


Hardest of Hearts

by Etstrubal



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Exhibitionism, M/M, Most of the side pairings are in the backround, Multi, Pining, Poly, Polyamory, Puppies, Slow Burn, Threesome - M/M/M, handjobs, jerking off, so much pining, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-18 22:28:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8178430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etstrubal/pseuds/Etstrubal
Summary: Kyoutani Kentarou doesn't like people. Especially all the stupid privileged kids at his university. That's before he starts crushing both on his tutor, Oikawa Tooru, and one of his teammates, Iwaizumi Hajime, who are dating each other.~Edit (17/3/17): probably discontinued,,,, sorry guys





	1. The angry puppy, the beauty queen and the man with the legendary biceps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time attempting a long, slowburn fic. It's one of those "Fuck I wish there was a long, slowburn fic for this ot3 that is 100% relevant to all my interests. There isn't one? Guess I'll have to write it myself shit"  
> I hope to update weekly with 4000-6000 word-ish chapters. I'm not sure how many episodes there will be yet, but I'll update it when I have an estimate.

_Attending one of the most prestige universities in the country on a sports scholarship is overrated,_ Kyoutani thought bitterly as he walked across the campus. Sure, it has it's perks. Fully equipped gym. Swimming pools. Quality tracks. A powerful team to practice with. One of the best coaches in the country to guide him. Three full meals a day. New fancy dorms to live in. Relatively free choice of his classes. Free counseling and help studying if he ever needs it.

Keyword: Need. Not want. The studying part sucked bad enough to cast a shadow on all the advantages. His grades the first semester of University were 'insufficient' in clean language, and pretty fucking horrible in his own. Apparently it's a huge fucking deal to the administration, because for about a month now they've been forcing him to meet up with private tutor to help him study. Why do they even give a shit about his studies anyway? They all know he's only there for his volleyball skills and no other reason. It's not like he's actually going to do anything with his bullshit business management degree. He only chose it because when he googled the easiest majors to get through that's the answer that popped up the most. He didn't care for it at all. Or any other major in this university. Well, except veterinary maybe. He toyed with that idea for a few days before checking the acceptance requirements and immediately dropping it. The thought of being able to take care of animals was nice, but he wasn't close to being smart enough for it.

 _Maybe I'm getting soft and spoiled,_ He thought as he crossed the campus. _I should be grateful._ But having to take private lessons sucked, and all those stuck up privileged kids staring at him were making it really hard. Even back at home, in his own shitty neighborhood and shitty highschool with barely enough funds for a decent net, he didn't exactly fit in. So here, in a place filled with people who grew up with enough money they could actually pay for university? His bleached hair, black eyeliner and worn out clothes stuck out more than Lady Gaga in the MTV Awards that one time she wore a meat dress. Okay, maybe not _that_ much. But he was aware of the hostile glances people sent his way, the way they mumbled to each other.

It's not like he cared, as long as it kept them away from him. He didn't go there to make friends, he went to play volleyball. It's just that the way they looked down at him pissed him off. Maybe he was just in a mood because practice was annoying and he had to work on his serves instead of spikes like he wanted to.

Glancing at his watch, he suddenly realized that if he doesn't hurry it up he's going to be late. He had three minutes to sprint the rest of the way to the library where he'll meet his tutor. Fuck. The guy always teased him when he was late, and he'd rather avoid that today. Holding his bag close to his chest, he started running towards the building. There was a mass of people near the entrance, so he ended up being late anyway. His last hope that maybe his tutor was uncharacteristically late demolished at the sight of the light brown, silky wavy hair and matching colored eyes.

"Kyouken-chan! How kind of you to show up!" His tutor, Oikawa Tooru, chirped at him with a wide smile. The asshole. The guy was a year older, and got on his nerves from the first second. First he told Kyoutani that he should call him senpai, and by the end of the first lesson he gave him the stupidest nickname Kyoutani ever received. Kyouken. Mad dog. Fucking ridiculous. The kanji isn't even close to being written that way. And to make things worse, he added a "chan".

Even though the guy was annoying and liked to tease him, Kyoutani had to admit he was a good tutor. At the first meeting he learned that the other was an astrophysics major, which was impressive as hell (Not that Oikawa would ever hear that from him) and also meant he knew his math very well. Kentarou's grades in his other classes were good enough, it was the math related ones that were the problem, so they gave him a student who's math game was strong. There are a lot more numbers than he expected in business management major. Like statistics and stuff. It was a surprise to find out he can actually understand the material after Oikawa explained it and helped him do some of his work. It was harder to do the rest later, when he was alone, but all the little notes about the way they solved the exercise helped a lot. Kyoutani also had to admit, although grudgingly, that Oikawa wasn't a stuck up like a lot of other kids around even if he _wa_ / prim, proper, and very clearly rich and privileged.

"It's just three minutes, get off my case." He grumbled at him as he dropped his bag next to the table and slumped down in a chair across from his tutor, catching his breath. He was in fantastic shape, of course, but sprinting across campus would be enough for anyone to break a sweat.

"Aww, did you run over here? Did your best to make it on time?" The smug bastard teased him. Of course he'd notice him breathing a little hard and say something about it. "Maybe you missed me?" The light brown eyes twinkled playfully as Oikawa murmured the words, leaning forward across the table and into his personal space.

Kyoutani's lip twitched and he leaned back as much as he could in his chair. "Let's just fucking study." He half barked at him. Oikawa was a huge flirt. Kyoutani might have been flattered or even fallen for his playful attitude if he haven't seen him act that way with everyone. Still, it was hard sometimes for his ultra gay self not to crush on this incredibly attractive person and flirt back. The easiest way was to aggressively retort, of course. Oikawa usually stopped after two or three of those and the problem was solved. There was no escape from at least a little crushing, however. He had accepted it as inevitable and tried his best to keep it to a minimum, because his tutor actually had a boyfriend.

He could never understand why Oikawa was so flirty when he was taken. He mentioned his boyfriend at least a dozen time every time he tutored him. "My boyfriend had a problem with that too!" he'd comment when Kyoutani had an issue with certain things. "My boyfriend loves those horrible cookies too! Ew. They're so awful I won't even kiss him after he eats them. He says that's why he likes them so much, but he goes to brush his teeth anyway." He rambled one day when Kyoutani pulled out a pack of high protein cookies. Was his boyfriend a body builder or something? He didn't know anyone beside his team who ate those cookies. But then again, he didn't know many people around here. Oikawa's boyfriend sounded like someone he could actually get along with, though, based on their shared annoyance of the man. Kyoutani wondered if it bothered him that Oikawa flirts with other people so openly, though.

Oikawa, unaffected, laughed his airy laugh, which ironically seemed to suck the air from Kyoutani's lungs when he heard it the first time (not that he'll admit it, even to himself). "Of course, Kyouken-chan! This is what we came here to do after all, isn't it?" He didn't wait for an answer before adding, "Assuming you did all your statistics homework, we can work on quantitative methods."

Kyoutani knew it was a question by the tilt of his head. He did not finish said homework. Shit. He completely forgot he was supposed to do those yesterday. Instead, he was at the gym, lifting with one of his senpais from the team, Iwaizumi, whom he may or may not had a huge crush on. Kyoutani hesitated, debating whether he should lie or not, but it was already too late. Oikawa was too damn perceptive, and saw right through him.

The taller man sighed dramatically and tsked disapprovingly. "Kyouken-chan, what will I do with you? I told you that those were important!"

He hunched his shoulder and lowered his gaze, mumbling, "Sorry."

Oikawa shook his head but his expression softened. "It's alright. We'll do half of those and then some quantitative methods. But that just means you have to be very focused, and do all your homework before our next meeting!" Oikawa ordered, pointing his finger at him.

Kyoutani nodded solemnly. He could swear that the other enjoyed the times he was late or didn't do his work the most, just because he liked ordering him around. Kyoutani couldn't tell him to go fuck himself when it was his own fault. He had an entire weekend before their next meeting, though, so he could probably manage it.

He must have looked pretty depressed, because Oikawa said, "Aww, don't be like that! Statistics is such a fun subject! If you put your mind to it, I'm sure you'll do just fine. You might even like it! And then I'll get to see that pretty smile of yours." And he fucking winked at him this time, what the fuck.

"I've never smiled in your presence, you have no way to know how my smile looks." He ground his teeth together, hoping to every god he knows that his warm cheeks don't show. His skin wasn't easily colored, not from bruises and not from a blush, but you can never know.

Luckily, it didn't seem like Oikawa noticed anything. "I was at your practice game last Saturday, Kyouken-chan. Your smile was very cute when you won."

Fuck-what? He was there? Why? Did he know anyone on the team? It was possible, but not necessarily. A lot of people came to watch them play and cheer on them. It wasn't a huge surprise that he didn't see him in the crowd. Kyoutani looked away, frowning, and grumbled, "Whatever. We're wasting time. Let's study already."

"Aww, You're no fun today." Kyoutani was not impressed; Oikawa told him that at least twice every time they met.

He didn't grace the other with a reply, instead moving to draw his notebooks from his bag.

The rest of the lesson was fine. Once the taller stopped flirting or teasing and got serious, he usually stayed that way for their remaining time together. Oikawa was a patient teacher, he never got angry or frustrated with him for not understanding something. And most importantly, he never let Kyoutani feel like he was stupid, always making sure to praise him whenever he got the exercise right. He might have thought he was being subtle about it, but Kentarou noticed and was secretly grateful.

Nearly two hours later Kyoutani's brain has successfully transformed into mash. He was finally free to stand up and stretch out his stiff muscles. His back popped loudly and Oikawa laughed again.

"It's your fault for making me sit here for two hours straight." He blamed him.

"Lies!" Oikawa accused him, Scandalized. "You know I'd let you get up or go to the bathroom if you only asked nicely." He flashed him another perfect smile. Right back to his flirty self, it appears.

Kyoutani scowled at him. "I didn't mean that literally."

"I know." Oikawa grinned at him while he gathered his things. "Oh, and I had another idea." he added casually after a moment.

Kyoutani looked up at him expectantly.

"I could give you my number, and if you have any problems later you can text me and I'll help you?" His tone rose at the end, making it into a hesitant question.

"Oh, uh..." He said, staring dumbly. What the hell was happening?

"You don't have to. But it'll make me feel better to know that if you get stuck I could help you." The man said quickly. It was the first time he saw Oikawa acting anything other than his confident, charming usual self. It was weird. But oddly suited him.

But why the fuck does he care? He's being paid for the tutoring time by the university. But why should he offer extra help if there is nothing there for him? It made Kyoutani suspicious, but he had to admit that it /was/ a good idea. "Yeah. Okay." He handed the other his phone.

Oikawa put in his number, biting his lower lip cutely, like he was trying to stifle a laugh. Damn it, what the actual fuck. If Kyoutani didn't know better, he would think Oikawa might be making a move on him. He didn't let the thought grow any roots in his mind, though. Even if his tutor was single, he'd never go for him anyway.

"All done." He returned the phone with a smile so self satisfied that Kyoutani made a mental note to himself to check what name he saved himself as later.

By now, Kentarou finished gathering his things into his bag. "I'll get going. Thank you for today."

"No problem, Kyouken-chan!" Oikawa smiled brightly at him, still sitting in his place. He often stayed at the library after Kentarou left to study on his own.

With a nod, he turned and left.

His roommate was already there when he arrived to the dorms after a short, uneventful walk.

"Yo." Terushima greeted him, not bothering to look up from the the tablet he was currently holding. From his focused expression, Kyoutani could tell he was drawing. Probably something for one of his art classes.

"Hey." He dropped his bag next to the bed and flopped down face first on the sheets.

"Long day?"

A grunt was all the response he was capable of at the moment.

Terushima snorted and went back to scribbling on his screen.

The guy was alright, Kyoutani decided a few months back. They got off to a rough start, but eventually managed to get along. They were pretty chill around each other these days. With the exception of his his team, Terushima was probably the closest thing he had to a friend. He may have been a little noisy and messy, but he wasn't an asshole. And he wasn't intimidated by Kentarou's bullshit, either. That he could respect.

After a few moments he remembered that he had Oikawa's number now and pulled out his phone to check his contact list. It was "Tooru-chan my gorgeous, genius tutor" with an alien emoji. How did he even do that? Kyoutani had no idea his phone had an alien emoji. He kind of wanted to ask him the next time they met, but Oikawa will probably make fun of him somehow. So he'll have to figure it out on his own. He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the stupid name.

Just as he decided to keep the it (It wouldn't hurt anybody anyway, right?), the phone buzzed in his hands. Startled, he dropped it on his face.

"Dude." Terushima snorted and chuckled.

"Shuddup." Kyoutani grumbled, rubbing at his nose.

"I didn't say anything."

"You said-" Kentarou noticed who the text was from and his mind cut out the attention to his tongue, making him stop in the middle of the sentence. It was Iwaizumi. The second year at his team he might or might not- Eh fuck it, he had a massive crush on the guy. He was buff, incredibly handsome, and a very talented player. But it was more than that. He was the first person from the team who approached Kyoutani at the start of the year and tried to befriend him, and the most persistent one too. He was kind, and smart, and watching him lift weights was a religious experience. They became gym buddies after meeting there accidentally a few times, and sometimes went for jogs together too.

"Said what?" Terushima brought him back to reality.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

"That's right. I didn't say anything." For once, Kyoutani didn't care one bit about his smug tone.

[19:47] Iwaizumi Hajime  
**Hey man. Jog tomorrow before morning practice?**

[19:49] Kyoutani Kentarou  
**Sure. 6:30 at the tracks?**

The morning practice officially starts at 7, and until everyone will get ready... That should give them about 45 minutes, maybe a little less. The response came less than a minute later.

[19:49] Iwaizumi Hajime  
**Sounds good. See you there.**

Kyoutani wanted to keep texting, to talk about anything at all, but he had no idea what about. He stared at the screen for a few long moments before Terushima broke the silence.

"Dude. You look like you're trying to shoot lasers out of your eyes and melt your phone. Who are you texting?" He asked.

"Don't be nosy." Kyoutani snapped at him.

Terushima straightened up, putting down his tablet and watching him with genuine interest. "Is it a guy you like?" The other knew from the first day that he was gay, and Kyoutani knew that Terushima was bi. They might have had a thing going if they were each other's tastes, but they really weren't. Kyoutani liked bigger guys, and Terushima liked skinnier, cuter guys, with freckles and green hair who's name was Yamaguchi Tadashi. Terushima told him so much about his crush that he could practically write the guy's biography.

Fuck, were his thoughts written on his forehead today or something? "No." He scoffed.

"L-i-e-r." Terushima drawled.

Kyoutani glared at him, even though he knew it would have no effect.

"Just tell me and I'll leave you alone! It's _that_ simple!"

"Just someone from the team." Kyoutani shrugged.

"Oooh! Tell me more!"

"You said you'll leave me alone once I tell you." He pointed out, glaring.

"Obviously I lied." He said casually. "I'll order takeout for the both of us if you tell me." Terushima offered.

Fuck. He knew him too well. Food was the only bribery Kentarou would accept. He caved in. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Well, what does he look like, for once?"

"I don't have a picture." Kyoutani frowned.

"Then describe him." Terushima insisted.

"Fine. He's a little shorter than me, but has more muscles. He's like... Really nicely built. Very fit, you know? Obviously. He's on the team. His hair is black and pretty short, but not as short as mine, and it sticks up in all directions but in a good way, and after shower it's flat and it looks really good too... And his eyes are usually dark brown, but out in the sun I swear they're the deepest green I've ever seen."

"Wow. This is the most I've ever heard you say at once." Terushima stared at him with a weird expression.

"Yeah." Kyoutani was pretty surprised himself, actually. "Maybe I kind of needed to get that out."

Terushima nodded in understanding. "Get it all out then. What's he like?"

Kyoutani didn't have to be prompted much to give him all the details, how they became friends and how work out together pretty regularly now. It felt good to get it out instead of turning those things in his head by himself.

"Shit, man. He sounds super great. Do you have any idea if he's taken? Or even gay?" Terushima asked at the end of it.

"I'm not sure. I've never heard him mention a girlfriend or boyfriend, and I didn't ask. It would have been kind of weird to ask out of nowhere without a good excuse."

Terushima nodded along, gesturing him to go on.

"But... I think he might be gay. There's this thing you do, when you're gay and in a gym changing room with a bunch of other guys who are mostly naked. You try to avoid looking too much. It feels disrespectful, like you're invading their privacy."

"I know what you mean, I used to play volleyball in highschool too." Terushima agreed.

"Really? Then why-" Kyoutani started asking but was cut off by Terushima.

"Not talented enough. Was doing it for fun. Back to the story." He demanded.

"...There's not much else to add. He does that thing, but he's very subtle about it."

Terushima thought for a few long moments. "That's not a whole lot to go on, but I think there might be a chance." He finally said carefully.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But even as just a friend, he sounds really great." Terushima smiled encouragingly at him

Kyoutani nodded. "You're right. And... Thank you. For listening." He was slightly embarrassed now. Gashing about his crush was not something he was used to.

"No problem dude. It was kind of fun seeing you like that. You almost smiled there." He teased him cheekily.

"Shut up." Kyoutani threw his pillow at the other, who caught it laughing.

"Okay. So what are we ordering? Chinese? Pizza?" He asked.

Terushima was a slightly good guy, Kyoutani decided.

~

Kyoutani loved sports. He loved exerting himself, pushing his body to the limit, feeling his lungs and muscles burn. As he grew up, he learned to love the slow, continuous effort of jogging as well. There was something addicting about the repetitiveness. Especially when it was early morning, like now, with only the sound of two sets of feet tapping on the track course. Iwaizumi and he kept a steady, relatively slow pace, that both of them had no problem keeping up with for a long time. He glanced at the slightly shorter male from time to time. To see he was doing fine, not check him out, he told himself. That was a filthy lie. He was ogling the beads of sweat at his temples and neck whenever he could.

They have been running for a little under half an hour when their ace and rumored next year captain, Ushijima Wakatoshi, joined them. The big man always arrived early to warm up before the official practice warm up, and whenever they were jogging he joined them. Three sets of feet were hitting the course now, which messed up the previous harmony a bit, but not badly enough he'd be annoyed. Ushijima started running faster. Iwaizumi followed, throwing Kyoutani a challenging smirk right before he started speeding up. Huffing, Kyoutani picked up the pace himself, matching the two. They all ran faster and faster, accelerating to a sprint in a few short minutes.

Kentarou was the first to slow down, involuntarily. Just the thought of losing to those two was enough to send a rush of adrenaline through him, helping him speed past them. The other two were just as determined. Ushijima passed him and claimed the lead spot again, but it took a little more until Iwaizumi managed to close the five meter gap between them. It had more to do with Kentarou's speed falling than his picking up, though. 

Once he realized his body wasn't going to go faster he let go, slowing down to a jog and then a walk. Ushijima kept on sprinting like the Greek god he was, while Iwaizumi slowed down with him.

"He only won because we've been running for a while already." Iwaizumi said breathlessly, throwing a dirty look after the man.

Kyoutani snorted. Iwaizumi started laughing, and it was so infectious he started laughing too. Kyoutani never liked his laugh, it was too deep and sounded like he was barking or something. But Iwaizumi smiled widely, looked right at him and said, "It feels good to hear you laugh, man."

Kyoutani had absolutely no idea what that meant, or how to respond to that. So of course he retreated back to his most familiar way of responding to anyone about anything - scowling and changing the subject. "Come on. We should stretch before practice." He said, starting to walk towards the benches where they put their things.

He didn't look back for Iwaizumi's reaction.

The practice that morning went really great, leaving Kyoutani in high spirits. Maybe it was because he was able to hang out with Iwaizumi first thing in the morning - which was always a highly positive thing. Maybe it was because he managed to toss two perfect service aces in a row. Or maybe it was because the words "feels good to hear you laugh" rang in his ears throughout the whole morning.

When they were done showering and dressing, Iwaizumi even asked if he'd like to go grab a late breakfast together. It wasn't a rare occurrence, but it didn't happen often enough for him to be completely chill about it. He almost tripped and fell. Iwaizumi quickly grabbed his arm and waist to steady him, and fuck. His hands were so fucking big and steady, what the fuck. He quickly shook the bigger man off, fearing he might lean into him or otherwise reveal the less than honorable thoughts going through his head.

"You okay?" Of course that the bastard, the kind man he was, was concerned for him,

"Yeah. Just got a little dizzy for a second."

"We're definitely going for food, then. Some protein in your system will fix you right up, come on." He nudged his head in the general direction of the main building of the university, where the biggest cafeteria was. Iwaizumi smiled that small, contained smile again, the one that made his small dimples visible. It was the most adorable smile he ever saw. Fuck Kyoutani sideways. Preferably by this gorgeous man walking beside him.

"Sounds good." He squeezed out in a gruff voice.

On their way, they chatted about university and how much simpler and easier everything was in high school. Iwaizumi asked about his grades (of course he remembered the one time Kyoutani mentioned his grades were dropping over a month ago), and Kyoutani told him that he's studying with a tutor now and it's going pretty well.

Iwaizumi nodded knowingly. "I'm glad. You're such a great addition to the team, I wouldn't want you to lose your place over something stupid like studies." He smiled kindly at him as they entered the mostly empty cafeteria. 

Kyoutani was saved from having to think up a reply for that. "Iwa-chan?" A familiar voice asked from the side. Kyoutani turned, and was confused to spot Oikawa staring right at them.

"And Kyouken-chan! This is such a nice surprise!" The man practically hopped towards them excitedly.

"You two know each other?" Kyoutani asked, confused, glancing between the two of them. He had a vague bad feeling about this, but tried to suppress it.

"Yeah. Shittykawa is-"

"What do you mean if we know each other?" Oikawa butted in, wriggling his finger in Kyoutani's face. "I told you so much about him! Or do you never listen to me when I talk about my boyfriend?" He pouted childishly.

Kentarou's heart dropped to his pants. His mouth emitted a soft "Oh." _Oikawa's boyfriend eating the protein cookies makes sense now. Iwaizumi loves those,_ Kyoutani thought dumbly.

"Stupid, you probably never mentioned my name." Iwaizumi told him, but without much bite. Oikawa was hanging from his huge arm the way Kyoutani fantasized about doing so many times.

"Could be." Oikawa furrowed his brows, completely unaware of the turmoil inside Kyoutani. "But wait! Iwa-chan! Why haven't you mentioned me to your friend Kyouken-chan?" He demanded.

He barely even heard the words. He wanted to puke, or maybe lie in bed for a while and feel sorry for himself. Fuck. He had no idea that Iwaizumi being taken would affect him this much. And of course, he was with the tall, stunningly beautiful, smart Oikawa Tooru. They made a very attractive picture, he had to admit.

"I donnu, it never came up. Don't be annoying about it, Oikawa. And don't call him Kyouken, what the hell kind of nickname is that?" Iwaizumi scolded him. Under different circumstances, he would feel a warm glow in his chest right about now. Instead, he felt hollow and cold.

"I thought you already knew, Kyouken-chan! I would have said something earlier." Oikawa smiled brightly at him.

"Yeah. I, uh, remembered I have a class in a few minutes. I have to go." He said quickly, unable to look at the way Hajime's arm snaked around Oikawa's waist, or the way Oikawa leaned into him, placing an arm on his chest.

"Wait, you gotta eat something after practice, Kyoutani." Iwaizumi frowned, concerned.

"I'll grab something from the dorm on my way, s'okay." He shrugged off the man's insistence. "I'll see you guys around." He added, already turning to leave.

"Uh-okay. Um. See you." Iwaizumi said after him.

"Bye bye, Kyouken-chan! Be a good boy and do your homework!" Oikawa raised his voice as he got further away from them.

Fuck. Just his fucking luck. The only two people who were kind to him on this campus and happened to be gay, were taken. By each other. Walking quickly back to his dorm (definitely not to any kind of class for the rest of the day, his studies be damned), he had to bite back frustrated tears. Fuck him sideways. Probably not by Iwaizumi, seeing as he was already doing that to Oikawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a paragraph about love for sports when I'm a proud couch potato myself was weird


	2. Finding Nemo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments! They mean a lot to me c:  
> This chapter and probably the next are more build up, and things will get more heated up in the 4th chapter. I really hope this isn't boring aaahh  
> btw this wasn't beta'ed. I think I caught the mistakes but if you see any feel free to let me know

The door opened about ten minutes after the bell declared lunch break. Kyoutani was laying stomach down on his bed, head turned to to the side and staring at the wall. The same position he had been laying in since he first flopped down on the covers hours ago. He didn't bother turning around or greeting Terushima. The guy probably came to get his lunch; he'll be out of the room in a couple of minutes anyway.

His roommate moved uncharacteristically quietly around the room; First carefully closing their usually creaking door, then moving to slowly close the curtains. _What's with being quiet all of a sudden?_ Kyoutani wondered. Terushima was usually loud and boisterous. Scrap that. Always. The mystery was solved when he heard the man speaking behind him, voice barely more than a whisper.

"Look at you, living the good life, taking naps in the middle of the day while the rest of us have classes to attend and work to do." Terushima said.

"I'm not sleeping, asshole." Kyoutani snarled at him, still not moving. The effect was probably somewhat ruined because Terushima couldn't actually see his scowl, but he still yelped in surprise, which was enough to satisfy Kentarou.

Kyoutani couldn't watch with his face to the wall, but he heard his roommate startling and stumbling into something, followed by a thud. "Fuck! Dude! What the fuck! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were sleeping. And here I was trying to be nice and keeping quiet and shit." He muttered the last part bitterly.

"Whatever." Kyoutani really wasn't in any sort of mood to argue with him. He'd usually be very up for a fight when he's in a bad mood. Getting aggressions out regularly was a necessity for him, even when things went his way. Working out every day helped, but occasionally he'd still have to go boxing for a few good hours to get it out.

This time, though, he just felt empty. Of fighting spirit. Of energy. Of emotions. He was pretty numb by the time Terushima walked in. A couple of hours spent being angry with himself effectively wore him out. He even dozed off for a little while earlier, so his roommate wasn't completely wrong after all. He couldn't believe that he let himself develop feelings to this extent. Not just for Iwaizumi. Kentarou may not be the smartest person on campus, but he could recognize his own feeling and knew that seeing Oikawa draped over his boyfriend was different from hearing about said boyfriend. It sucked. It all sucked.

He was stupid and delusional to even dare think, to hope, that Hajime might be into him. Ridiculous. At least he didn't have the same hopes with his tutor. Not consciously anyway. Even hours later, he still couldn't get the image of the two out of his mind. They looked like someone cut them out of a magazine. They fit each other perfectly. And he was jealous. Of both of them. And angry at himself for being jealous, for being so affected by the fact both his crushes were with each other.

"Are you... Okay?" Came Terushima's voice.

He hated how careful and gentle his tone was. Like Kentarou was some delicate glasswork that might break if you're not careful. More than anything, he hated feeling weak. "I'm fine." He barked at him.

"Doesn't really sound like it." Terushima said skeptically.

"Shut up Teru. I'm not in a fucking mood to talk. Go fucking draw your shitty stuff and leave me the fuck alone." He growled.

"Fine. You don't have to be a dick about it, I was just worried. Fuck you too." Terushima snapped back at him.

Kyoutani heard the other grabbing his bag, keys, then the door opening and slamming. He flinched at the loud noise. Shit. Terushima didn't deserve that. He'd have to apologize later and make it up to him somehow. He was lucky Terushima was quick to forgive and forget. He was such an asshole for snapping at him, especially when he had nothing to do with his bad mood and even tried to help. It made him feel even worse about himself. Just when things were getting better, he was getting used to University, he did fine on his last few quizzes, got along with most of the team... He couldn't afford to fuck it up over some stupid crushes. No one had done him any wrong, it was his own stupid fault for getting upset and for snapping at his roommate. All his responsibility. He was acting like a spoiled brat, and if he met someone acting this way he'd probably want to slap them.

Kyoutani made himself sit up. Eat last night's leftovers and the rest of his protein cookies. Drink half a bottle of water. He thought about going to his two afternoon classes but eventually decided that he wasn't in any mood to face people. He was still determined not to waste the rest of the day laying in bed and feeling sorry for himself, though. This is not what he was there for. He came to University to have a chance at going pro and making something out of himself.

Accepting the scholarship was a tough decision. Leaving his mom to provide for his younger sister and twin brothers alone was something that burdened his conscience daily. His shitty excuse for a father wasn't around for eight years now, since the twins were born. He had to help around the house and watch them while their mom worked her ass off when he was younger, and the moment he was old enough, Kentarou found a job.

His mom wouldn't hear anything about him skipping this chance, though. She told him she'll be fine, that she'll manage, but he knew how hard it's going to be for her. If he slacks off and loses the scholarship, he'd never be able to meet her eyes again. So he gritted his teeth and pulled out his notebooks, determined to study his ass off for the rest of the day. At least it was Friday, and weekend was here. He won't even have to feel guilty about not going to classes tomorrow, because there wouldn't be any.

Terushima walked back in hours later. Kyoutani looked up to greet him, but was met with silence and a dirty look.

"Hey." Kentarou tried.

Terushima shot him another dirty look.

"I'm sorry. I was a dick." He apologized, getting the words out of the way as quickly as he could.

"Damn right you were." His roommate acknowledged the apology, but it clearly wasn't enough.

Kyoutani gritted his teeth. Did Terushima have to make him work for it every single time? "What do I need to do so you'll forgive me?" It was a peace offering, and they both knew that if Terushima doesn't bite then he'll be the asshole.

"Tell me what got you so on edge."

Kyoutani was not expecting that. He was mentally preparing for a week or two of doing Terushima's laundry or something. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk yet, but it _would_ be easier than doing double the laundry. Scoffing, he asked, "Why do you care?"

"I'm a curious guy, and I haven't seen you like that yet." Terushima shrugged.

Kyoutani wasn't sure that was good enough of a reason, but odds were he'll probably tell Terushima about what happened sooner or later. Better to just get on with it. "Remember I told you once about the tutor dude? How he kind of flirts sometimes even though he has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah?" _what's he got to do with anything?_ Terushima's raised eyebrow suggested.

"His boyfriend is my senpai from the team. The one I told you about yesterday." He went on to give him the short version of what happened and how he bolted out of there.

Terushima gave a low whistle. "Holy shit, dude. That's rough. You alright?"

"Do I look like I'm alright?" He scowled at him.

"I mean... Yeah, sorry. We're good, don't worry. I'm sorry for you though, I can't imagine how much that sucks. And if you ever need someone to hook up with..." He trailed off.

Kyoutani stared at him blankly.

"Oh, shit, no, I didn't mean me." Terushima laughed and Kyoutani snorted. "I meant I could be your wingman. Or set you up with someone. I've got a few slutty friends." He shrugged.

"Thanks. I appreciate the thought."

"No problem man."

"What about your guy? The dude with the freckles? Yamaguchi right?" It was common courtesy to take interest in someome's love life after venting to him, right? Not that he really wanted to know or anything, of course. It's just that he hasn't heard about the guy for a while. Not that he was worried.

"All his freckles are still in place." Terushima avoided his eyes.

"Still haven't talked to him beside school stuff have you?"

"Nooo..." Terushima whined, falling into his bed dramatically. "He's just too pretty, and talented, and _good_. I get super flustered every time I approach him, and he's so nice and it just makes everything worse!" He buried his face in the pillow.

Kyoutani could relate. He wasn't the blushing mess type in any way, but he knew the feeling well enough. Good looking dudes are stressful. "You have a tongue piercing. If he's into dudes at all, he'll go for you. Just ask him out." It was common sense. Kyoutani himself wondered more than once how that piercing would feel in a kiss. Or on his cock. Not that he wanted to do it with his roommate. He imagined it on a different tongue, one that belonged to someone he was no longer allowed to fantasize about.

Terushima turned to look at him with a ridiculous (but kind of adorable) pout. "It's not that simple."

If Kyoutani's eyes rolled, it wasn't because he told them too. It was his bullshit reflex. Completely involuntary. "It really is."

"It's nooot!" His whining was muffled by the pillow. Didn't make it any less annoying.

"It will be the day you stop being such a pussy." Kyoutani snorted.

"Dude. That's not cool." Terushima straightened up, giving him his Serious Look.

"What? I always call you an asshole and a dick and you never have any problem with it." Kyoutani scowled defensively.

His roommate shook his head. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I don't mind the names. But calling me a coward by saying "pussy" is implying that girls are all cowards, y'know? That's not cool. Very sexist."

Kentarou stared at him. Where the hell was this coming from? Terushima _was_ an art major and they were all hipsters, true, but he never cared about being politically correct before. "This is something Yamaguchi said isn't it?"

"No! What? You don't think I can come up with my own enlightened opinion?"

Kyoutani snorted. "No."

"Rude." Terushima huffed. "But you're right, he did say that. He's so smart... and good... and so fucking cute!" His face slum dunked into the pillow once more.

"You're so gone, man." Kentarou said. _So am I,_ he thought, quickly correcting it to _so was I,_ even though he didn't really believe it.

~

Iwaizumi texted him Saturday morning.

[11:14] Iwaizumi Hanjime:  
**Hit the gym later?**

[12:02] Kyoutani Kentarou  
**No, sorry. Have to study**

[12:04] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Oh, okay. Good luck man**

Kyoutani didn't reply. He felt bad enough about lying anyway.

Five minutes later, he got another text.

[12:09] Tooru-chan my gorgeous, genius tutor:  
**Good boy! ^_^**

He didn't reply to that either. But he did change the ridiculous nickname to just "Oikawa Tooru".

~

Iwaizumi texted him again Sunday evening.

[21:34] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Morning run before practice tomorrow?**

[21:40] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Not really feeling up for it**

[21:41] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Come on, Kyou. You know it'll do you good**

He contemplated it for a few minutes. It _would_ do him good, but... He wasn't quite ready to be alone with Hajime yet.

[21:47] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**I think more sleep will do more good**

[21:48] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Alright man. Sleep well then**

Kyoutani didn't reply to that either. Tomorrow was going to be a long, long day. Morning practice, classes, then another private lesson with Oikawa. At least he did all his work this time.

~

Practice went about as well as he expected it to, which is not well at all. He was right back to his shitty old habits of aggressively stealing spikes, hitting them too hard and generally putting too much energy and unnecessarily burning through his stamina. He caught Iwaizumi sneaking glances in his direction two or three times, but because he was over thinking everything the entire weekend, he couldn't even tell what they meant anymore. He kept a safe little distance from Hajime, not really avoiding him, but definitely acting colder than before. He thought he was being subtle about it.

He was wrong. The coach wanted to talk to him both about today's practice and about improving his flexibility, so he had to stay behind everyone else. It took longer than he expected for them to come up with a new stretching regimen, so he only got to the changing room after everyone had already left. Or so he thought. Right as he opened the door, he spotted Iwaizumi sitting on one of the benches. Did he wait just for him? The other was already showered (smelling fresh and incredible, most likely) while Kyoutani was still sweaty and smelly. Great.

"Hey, I was wondering if we can have a word?" Hajime rose up to his feet, facing Kentarou.

Apparently he did wait just for him. Kyoutani had no idea what to make of it. "Okay." He agreed. Not that he had much of a choice. It wasn't like he could say "no", that'd be rude and suspicious.

"Are we... cool?" The big man asked hesitantly.

"I don't know what you mean." He knew exactly what he meant. But what did Iwaizumi know, or thought he knew?

"I'm asking if everything is alright between us." Iwaizumi clarified.

Jesus, why did he have to make it sound like they're in a relationship or something? "Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" _Oh no, why did I ask that?_

"Because you've turned down working out twice- it sounds stupid, I know, but you never refused before, so I got a little worried."

"Oh." Kyoutani wasn't expecting him to worry. He thought Iwaizumi would be mad at him for blowing him off or something.

"It's just-" Iwaizumi took a deep breath, clearly struggling with his words. "I couldn't help but notice the timing." He finally said.

"What do you mean?" Kyoutani asked carefully. Shit. Was he too obvious with his crush? Did Iwaizumi think he was only hanging out with him because of some distant chance they might hook up? Did he know he was crushing on his boyfriend too?

"Y'know. You finding out I'm gay. I thought you knew before, it's not like I hide it or anything, but I don't exactly scream gay in the stereotypical way, y'know?" Iwaizumi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I know some of the guys don't like the idea that-"

Oh. Fuck. What the fuck. Iwaizumi thought he might be a homophobe? Kyoutani didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. Was he really that much of an ass during the weekend and practice that this was the conclusion Iwaizumi had to draw? "That's not it," he said, but the other kept talking over him.

"-It's fine, I realize not everyone is very comfortable with the whole changing room thing and-"

"Iwaizumi."

"Oikawa said you never seemed iffy whenever he mentioned me but it's different when it's on the team and in person so-"

"I said that's not it-"

"I just need to know if we have a problem." Iwaizumi finished his speech, Tension apparent in his intense stare and the stiff way he held his shoulders.

"I'm gay." It was out of his mouth without the permission of his brain, but he didn't regret it. "I just had studies to catch up on. Everything's good."

"Oh. Uh." Hajime blinked at him. "Sorry about the whole speech then," Iwaizumi laughed awkwardly.

"It's okay. I get it." He assured the other.

"Cool. Okay. Glad we're good. You're a great guy, I wouldn't want to lose you as a friend." He smiled his small, dimpled smile that made Kyoutani's heart ache. His words didn't really help either. "I should have guessed, though. Eyeliner and everything. Shit, is that offensive? I mean, straight guys can wear it too I guess."

Kyoutani snorted, "It's alright man. I don't really give a crap about stereotypes and shit."

"Alright, cool." Hajime nodded, then his eyebrows creased as if something just occurred to him. "Hey, why do we never see you in the LGTB clubroom?"

"There's... an LGTB clubroom?" He had no idea. It made sense though; this was a pretty big University after all.

"You didn't know?"

Kyoutani shook his head.

"There were flyers everywhere... Last year. Right. They didn't advertise much this year. I guess word travels... Or maybe not. Anyway, Oikawa and one of his nerdy science friends founded it last year. It's really nice, there's a coffee table and sofas and we organize movie nights from time to time... You should come by." Hajime smiled at him encouragingly.

"Thanks... But I don't know. It's not really my scene." Kentarou started, but upon seeing the first signs of disappointment on Iwaizumi's face he quickly added, "Maybe some time. When I don't have to study."

"You really do study a lot, don't you?"

"I have to. I can't let my grades slip when I'm on the scholarship." Kyoutani explained shortly.

Hajime nodded slowly. "It's very impressive that you work so hard. I don't know how I'd manage to study anything without Oikawa. He's super helpful, even with the subjects he doesn't learn himself. But uh, don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me." Kentarou swallowed down the wave of envy.

"Thanks. Gym tomorrow? Coach said afternoon practice is canceled, so we'll have free time." Iwaizumi offered hopefully.

"Yeah. For sure." Kyoutani allowed a small smile with his nod. He couldn't avoid Hajime forever, that was for sure. He'd just suppress his feelings until they go away. Like Terushima said before, Iwaizumi would be a great friend. He didn't want to lose him.

"Great. I have to run, got class, but I'll text you later?" Iwaizumi was already walking to the door, but backwards, so he'll face Kyoutani while he spoke.

Kentarou nodded, Iwaizumi smiled at him one last time and in a moment he was out of the door and out of sight.

Kyoutani sighed in relief. He didn't even realize how much the idea of Iwaizumi letting him push him away scared him. It would be the easiest option for the man. He was friendly enough, and seemed to know a lot of people. The fact he wanted to clear things between them was... Beyond amazing, and he was grateful for it. Kentarou was shit at communication, but somehow, it was a lot easier with Iwaizumi. Safer. Like he wouldn't be judged or hated even if he acts weird and aloof or gets angry.

Iwaizumi was extraordinarily kind. It made things so much easier. It made things so much harder.

~

"Maybe I'm just stupid." Kyoutani grumbled. Oikawa has explained a part of the exercise to him five times in a row now, but he still couldn't grasp the technique. Kentarou could sort of follow the process as Tooru was explaining it, but once he finished, all the numbers and notes on the page meant nothing to him. It was incredibly frustrating.

"No, you're not, Kyouken-chan. If you're not getting it, it's because I didn't explain it well enough. Let's try again this way..." Oikawa said, immediately diving into another explanation from a different approach.

Kyoutani disagreed, but kept it to himself. It was clear that the taller was frustrated as well. But unless Kyoutani was mistaken (which usually didn't happen when he trusted his instincts), the frustration wasn't directed at him but at Tooru himself.

It took three more tries before something suddenly clicked in his mind and suddenly it was there all along, only he was looking at it upside down and sideways.

"Like this?" He asked hesitantly, pointing at the latest development he wrote down.

"Yes! Kyou-chan! You little genius!" Oikawa beamed at him. Kyoutani had a feeling that if there wasn't a table between them, the other might have tried to hug him. He wasn't sure whether he wanted him to or not.

"M'not." He mumbled, looking away with what he hoped was an annoyed expression rather than flustered. It was nice hearing praise, even when it wasn't true.

Oikawa didn't act differently towards him since the lesson started. He didn't mention the cafeteria, or that LGTB club thing in any way, much to Kyoutani's relief. Talking about it with Iwaizumi was enough, and he hoped he could get through the entire lesson without Tooru bringing it up. Today was just full of people crushing his hopes, it seemed, because five minutes before their time was up, Oikawa got hesitant again, like when he asked to give him his number.

"I uh, talked to Iwa earlier." He started. "And I just wanted to thank you. He was really worried this weekend. I know it doesn't seem like it, but that guy can get a little lonely. He has a lot of friends, sure, but no one he really connects to. But he really likes you, so I'm glad things are working out." Oikawa smiled at him, and it wasn't like his usual smile. It wasn't honey coated and practiced. It was genuine and warm, reaching all the way to his eyes. It felt like warm rays of sunlight shining directly on him. Kyoutani had to fight the urge to get away from it.

"I didn't really do anything. It was all him. I should be the grateful one." He mumbled.

"Still. I'm glad. And you should definitely come to the club too! I can't believe I didn't invite you earlier! But of course, I thought you might bite me if I was wrong, even though my gaydar is usually pretty good and I could totally tell you're one of us." It seemed like Kyoutani only blinked, and Oikawa transformed back to his usual playful self. The change was so sharp. One moment he seemed real, the next, like he was hiding behind a mask of cheerfulness. Kyoutani already missed that sincere smile. He wondered if he'll ever get to see it again.

~

The rest of the week flew by. His routine was an easy one to fall into. Between volleyball practices, gym with Iwaizumi, classes, tutoring lessons and his homework, he barely had any time to mourn not having a chance with Hajime. He already accepted a while ago that he had no chance with Tooru, but an actual boyfriend was different from mentions of a boyfriend. It was weird, at times. He didn't know who he was more jealous of.

It was Friday afternoon when Iwaizumi sent him an unexpected text.

[17:57] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Movie night at the club tonight. I'll be glad if you come.**

Kyoutani stared at the words. Not "You're welcomed to come", not "If you feel like it". Hajime was personally saying he'd be happy if he came. He stared at the phone some more before replying,

[18:10] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Can't. I have to study**

Lying felt bad, but fuck if he was going to go to a place where everyone knows each other when he himself only knows two people, who are most likely to be busy with their own friends and with each other.

[18:11] Oikawa Tooru:  
**No, you don't! You study enough as it is, Kyouken-chan! Fun is more important! ^-^**

Fuck. He scowled at his phone. Are they going to gang up on him regularly from now on? Finally he sent another text to Iwaizumi -

[18:15] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**What time? What are we watching?**

[18:16] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**The movie starts at 9, but most people come before to socialize and shit. And we're watching Finding Nemo. Tooru's pick**

He's seen that countless times, both as a kid and with his younger siblings. It was a solid movie. He always liked Disney anyway. If only he had at least one person he knew for sure he'd be completely comfortable with... Suddenly he remembered that he never asked Terushima about the Club. He was a second year, did he not know about it? He quickly typed a short message and sent it to his roommate.

[18:18] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Did u know there was an lgtb club**

[18:35] Terushit-head:  
**Yeah why**

[18:37] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Why didn't u tell me b4**

[18:37] Terushit-head:  
**i donnu i didnt think ud want 2 go**

[18:38] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Wtever. movie night tonight are u going**

[18:39] Terushit-head:  
**Nah I got this party, and i never went there anyway, seemed lame idk**  
**why?**

[18:40] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Iwaizumi invited me. i dont know if i should go**

[18:40] Terushit-head:  
**fuck yeah you should. go out there and make friends so you'll be less lonely**

[18:41] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Fuck you too asshole**

[18:42] Terushit-head:  
**Awwww**

So Terushima wasn't going. Kyoutani clenched his jaw. If he goes, he knew it'd be painfully awkward for everyone involved. If he doesn't go, he's going to feel like he isn't even trying to be friends with Hajime. He made a decision.

[18:55] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Okay, I'll be there**

For some reason, he always felt the need to spell everything correctly and even capitalize the needed letters when texting Iwaizumi, when with most other people he gave less than zero fucks.

[18:57] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Great! See you later then**

[18:59] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Yeah**

Almost as soon as he sent that one, Kyoutani got another text, from Oikawa again.

[18:59] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Yay! :D**

He didn't bother replying.

What the _fuck_ was he going to wear?

~

_Walk into the club like waddup I got a big cock_ were the wise words of Macklemore. More like _walk in to the club like waddup I don't know any of you and where the fuck is Iwaizumi and Oikawa._ He arrived almost 15 minutes before the movie was supposed to start, as Iwaizumi advised. So where the fuck was he?

Hoodie pulled up and hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans, Kyoutani fidgeted uncomfortably. He scanned the room twice already. Neither of them were there. He was getting a few curious looks already. Shit. He started seriously considering bolting out of there and pretending he never made it when he spotted someone familiar. It didn't take him very long to realize that those were the same freckles and green hair from the picture Terushima showed him on his phone a few weeks ago. He occupied one of the few armchairs around, phone in his hands, smiling faintly at it.

Shit. So Teru's boy was gay after all, it seemed. Fuck it. He was curious about the guy anyway, he might as well talk to him. He strode over, stopping just before the couch. Yamaguchi looked up at him curiously.

Wait, fuck. He couldn't just say that Terushima gushed about him and he got curious. That would totally be selling him out. And shit fuck now he's been silent for too long and-

"Hello?" The freckled boy suggested with a polite smile.

"Uh, yeah, hi. Um, I just recognized you from art. I mean, my roommate is an art major, and I saw you talking once." Smooth. So smooth. The lie wasn't too far fetched, was it? "I just don't know anyone else here." _Why aren't the memory deleting devices from Men in Black real?_ Because Kentarou could really use one. To delete his own memory of course, so he'll never have to think back on this moment and cringe.

"Oh! Your first time here then?" Yamaguchi asked, his smile becoming brighter and more genuine. He put his phone away. Kyoutani appreciated people who put their phone away when they talked to you.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, everyone is really nice! I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi. You already know I'm an art major," He chuckled. How was he so comfortable talking to someone he never met before?

"Kyoutani Kentarou." He bowed his head.

"Nice to meat you, Kyoutani! Who was the friend you saw me talking to?" Yamaguchi tilted his head to the side, and suddenly he could see a little of what Terushima saw in him. He really was kind of cute.

"Terushima." He said, hoping Yamaguchi would recognize the name. "Terushima Yuuji. He's my roommate."

"Oh! Undercut, tongue piercing right?"

"Yeah, that's the guy." Kyoutani confirmed.

The other groaned loudly. "He is so hot. Damn. I don't know how you can even live with him in the same room. Too bad he's super straight," Yamaguchi laughed brightly.

Aha. So this is how it is. Interesting. He considered not saying anything, letting the two of them run in circles around each other for a while longer, figure it out themselves. _But if I help, Terushima will probably stop bugging me about his crush_ , Kyoutani realized. Oh, if he only knew how he'd come to regret that decision. "You didn't know he's bi?" He asked, cocking one eyebrow at him.

Yamaguchi snorted. "Yeah, right. Now you're just messing with me."

"No, dude. He really is bi. He dragged me to some frat party last semester and I saw him dry humping some dude with my own two eyes. Wish I hadn't though." He shrugged.

"Holy shit, you're serious." Yamaguchi gaped at him. "I can't _believe_ I didn't know earlier. This is so great! I like you already, Kyoutani."

As always, Kentarou had no idea how to response to shows of affection and kindness. "Uh. Thanks." He mumbled. "No problem." He made a mental note to let his roommate know what happened later. Or maybe not. It'll be more amusing that way. He could already see the man getting flustered and confused when Yamaguchi will suddenly start flirting with him out of nowhere.

"Kyouken-Chaaaan!" A familiar voice called from the entrance. By the time he looked, Tooru was already half walking half-hopping towards him cheerfully. He caught Iwaizumi's form behind him, too. His relief was palpable. "I'm so glad you came!" Oikawa chirped further, grabbing Kyoutani's hand between his and shaking it excitedly.

"Looks like you know _someome_ ," Yamaguchi commented, amused.

"Yeah, well, they weren't here before." He grumbled.

"Sorry, we went out go get snacks." Iwaizumi explained. Oikawa finally let go of his hand, and Hajime leaned forward a bit to... Pat his shoulder. It was weird seeing him out of gym clothes, in jeans and a shirt that strained around his chest and biceps. He looked really good.

Kyoutani acknowledged him with a nod. "Oh. Uh. It's okay. Thanks I suppose."

"So you know Tadashi?" Oikawa asked.

Shrugging, Kyoutani said, "I guess I do now."

"That's good." Iwaizumi chimed in, his lips curling in a small smile.

"Are Kuroo and Tsukishima gracing us with their presence tonight?" Oikawa asked Yamaguchi.

"Kuroo is the friend who helped found this club," Hajime filled Kyoutani in at the same time Yamaguchi shook his head remorsefully.

"Aww! I miss Kuroo!" Tooru pouted.

Yamaguchi sighed. "Tell me about it. I miss Tsukki."

"Ever since those two got together they just went poof. Vanished off the face of the earth. Probably fucking like rabbits somewhere." Oikawa said, making Hajime and Tadashi laugh. Kyoutani missed the joke.

"What did you bring anyway?" Yamaguchi changed the subject, looking at Oikawa even though Iwaizumi was the one who held the bags.

"Don't worry, we got your damn Pocky." Oikawa assured him. Kyoutani assumed that was his favorite.

"Good boys." The green haired man said cheekily.

Hajime snorted, while Oikawa gasped dramatically. "You little brat! You're younger than us! Respect your elders!" Their smiles were wide even as Oikawa flopped down on the armchair, right in Yamaguchi's lap and started tickling him.

"S-stop it!" Yamaguchi laughed, trying to push him away. They were clearly close friends, even though if he remembered correctly, Tadashi was only a first year like him. How did he get so close to Oikawa in just a little over one semester?

Hearing them talking about people he didn't know, laughing and being playful, Iwaizumi watching then fondly and everyone else minding their own business made Kyoutani feel a little alone. He realized a long time ago that he tended to feel the most alone in the middle of a crowd; It wasn't exactly something new. But the urge, the _need_ to be a part of this was a novelty. The intensity of it surprised him.

"Kyoutani, can you help me put these into bowls?" Iwaizumi's voice startled him. He nodded stiffly, following the other.

"I'm really glad you came. And that you already talked to someone. I wanted to be here when you arrive so you wouldn't feel awkward or anything, but we had to get the snacks. I'm happy it worked out." He told him on their way there. Figures Iwaizumi would be try to be the perfect, considerate host.

"S'okay. I managed. Sort of. I recognized Yamaguchi just because my roommate has a huge crush on him." He shrugged. "I can't really take credit for that."

"You went over and you started talking to him, didn't you? I'd say you deserve all the credit. I probably wouldn't know anyone on campus beside the team if it wasn't for Tooru."

"Really?" Kyoutani thought back about what Oikawa told him. He didn't really believe it then, but maybe Tooru was telling the truth after all. Somehow, learning that Iwaizumi might also struggle with similar things helped. Not because he was happy the other was struggling, obviously. It made the issue seem normal. Not something that made him into a fuckup.

"Yeah, of course. Tooru makes it look so easy, but making friends is hard as fuck." Hajime admitted easily.

Kyoutani snorted. He couldn't agree more. Not that he wanted friends or anything in the first place.

Even as the night progressed, he still felt awkward and out of place. Sitting left to Oikawa during the movie helped in one way, but made things worse in another. See, Oikawa is handsey. He knew that much even from their study sessions, when there weren't many opportunities. But he underestimated the man greatly. The first time he felt a hand squeezing his thigh he nearly jumped off the couch. Oikawa emitted a loud "awww", seemingly unaware he was grabbing a foreign thigh. His other hand was doing the same to Iwaizumi who sat on his right, Kyoutani noted when he glanced to the side. Hajime, popping one popcorn after another into his mouth, seemed completely unaffected.

Kentarou scowled, which wasn't very different from the focused expression he wore just moments before. He tried to relax, but the muscles of his thigh tightened involuntarily. A minute or two passed and Tooru threw his hands up in the air, yelling at Dori to listen for once in her life and "Don't go into the jellyfish place nooo!" even though he must have seen it before and knew what would happen. People tsked and sent nasty looks his way, but no one bothered trying to shush him. Everyone were already used to the man talking during movies, most likely.

It happened again and again. Not just his thigh, but his arm and shoulder became victims too. He startled a little less every time Oikawa touched him, but by no means was he used to the casual touch by the end of the movie.

Kyoutani turned down Iwaizumi's invitation to stay after the movie and hang out with the rest. Sharing a couch with three other people in a dark room for over an hour and a half was more than enough socializing for him in one night. Iwaizumi, the ever understanding man he was, nodded and bid him good night.

"You too." He said. Oikawa was sitting with his back to them, lecturing animatedly about the hidden meaning of the movie to a group of people in various states of exasperation. He wondered if he should go over and tell him good night too, but it seemed like he was having so much fun and Kyoutani didn't want to bother him and ruin his flow.

Iwaizumi followed his stare to his boyfriend. "Don't worry, I'll tell Trashykawa you said goodbye." He smiled at him.

"Ah. Thanks." He ducked his head, turning to leave.

"Kyou?" Iwaizumi called his name suddenly. A couple of months ago he asked if it would be alright to call him Kyou because Kyoutani is such a long name, and Kentarou agreed with an indifferent "Sure, whatever,", even though it made his chest feel warm. Iwaizumi didn't always call him by the nickname, but Kyoutani secretly wished he would.

Eyebrows raised in a silent question, he turned back to look at him. 

"Did you have fun?" Iwaizumi asked.

 _Who the fuck even raised this man? How did he turn out so kind and thoughtful?_ "Yeah." He said gruffly. "T'was nice." He added for good measure.

Satisfied, Hajime nodded. "Good. I'll let you know when we have another movie night then."

"Uh. Yeah. Sure. Thanks. I'll get going then."

"Okay. See you tomorrow," Hajime said, reminding Kyoutani that they scheduled an evening run earlier. It would have been a morning run if Iwaizumi wasn't staying up until late.

Kyoutani nodded one last time, then turned and left.

Later, when he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling in quiet for once (Terushima was a snorer, but luckily he was still at his party), Kentarou thought it might not be too bad to go to this movie night once in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yamaguchi is a sjw fight me on it  
> I don't know if it's the ot3 that isn't popular enough or what, but the first chapter didn't get a lot of traffic and while it didn't ruin my motivation (as you can see by this 6k words update after 4 days lol), it does... kinda sucks?  
> Anyway, my point. I would love it if you could share it on tumblr  
> [here](http://etstruball.tumblr.com/post/151394599405/hardest-of-hearts-etstrubal-haikyuu-archive), if you have tumblr ^^  
> 


	3. Weak ass latte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoutani meets an unexpected new friend~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is... so fucking long oops  
> Also, I looked up how the Japanese school year goes and turns out the second semester is October to March, so by this timeline, what happens this chapter is mid-end November. Just in case anyone cares

Human beings have an uncanny ability to adapt to any situation the universe throws their way. To find ways to cope. Kyoutani Kentarou wasn't any different. Back in highschool, Kyoutani was forced to sit in a three hours lecture about the process of grief and the Kübler-Ross model. It was surprisingly interesting. He listened attentively, and the basics of it stuck in his mind. In three weeks, he went through all the stages. The shock and denial the first few seconds. Anger that manifested as frustration and self loathing. A short bargaining period of "maybe one day". He cut that one out pretty quickly, though. He might have been rude and brash at times, but Kyoutani wasn't the kind of person to wish others misfortune for his own gain. Periods of wallowing in "this is so unfair" and "this sucks" came and went for a while. But three weeks later, he could safely say he was fine.

Of course it was still difficult for him to be around Oikawa and Iwaizumi at the same time. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he was still attracted to the both of them, and immensely jealous. At least he got used to it, and it didn't hurt anymore. Or if it did, the pain wasn't shockingly sharp like it was the first time he saw them together. Over the weeks after that first movie night he went to, the shape and color of his jealousy had changed, became transparent and settled to the backround. If he didn't look directly (aka think about their relationship consciously), the jealousy wasn't even there. Where it was once separated between Iwaizumi and Oikawa, it was now combined. He didn't envy them separately anymore, but as a unit.

After finding out Tooru and Hajime were together, they were suddenly together _everywhere_. Oikawa insisted they send his boyfriend at least one selfie at every study session. Kyoutani scowled away in every single one of those, especially the ones where Oikawa draped an arm around his shoulder. Iwaizumi still rarely mentioned him, but now he knew that the cute bentos he sometimes brought were made by Oikawa. He saw them walking across campus together sometimes, but never tried to call them. The first time he even hid behind a tree, feeling completely stupid. Why was he scared of them spotting him anyway?

He also learned a lot about their lives. He knew now that they rented a small apartment off campus, and that it was only a 10 minutes walk away. Oikawa could cook basic things, while Iwaizumi was apparently capable of lighting a salad on fire. Now that he was listening more attentively whenever Oikawa mentioned his boyfriend (who was now "Iwa-chan" instead "my boyfriend" most times), he learned about their relationship as well. From "When Iwa-chan and I were in high school", "When Iwa-chan and I were in middle school" and "When Iwa-chan and I were kids", he gathered they were friends for over ten years, probably more. As for how or when they got together, he had no clue, and he wasn't going to ask. They were each other's highschool sweethearts in every sense of the word, even if he didn't know for sure they got together during that time. It was likely, though, with all the hormones.

The thought put pictures into his head that shouldn't be in there, and he cut them off. Tried to. Failed. He found himself more often than not fantasizing about being sandwiched between them rather than doing the nasty with just one of the two like before. He knew it was wrong, and it did leave a sour taste in his mouth after he was done. He felt like he was violating their honor or something. But it didn't actually hurt anyone, and no one would ever know, right? And frankly, how could he not, when they were both so hot? And with Oikawa's flirting? And when he knew exactly what Iwaizumi's back and thighs looked like? (Not his cock, though. Kyoutani had enough dignity and self control to look the fuck away in the showers.)

His life settled into a new routine. Not new per se, more like an improved one. He still had all the usuals. Practice, classes, lessons with Oikawa and gym with Iwaizumi. But now he also occasionally had lunch with the both of them. He went to the club three more times, when Hajime invited him, and was slowly getting used to some of the regulars there. They weren't all bad, he had to admit. Iwaizumi and him walked to their respective classes together after practice if they were in the same direction. Oikawa often chatted with him even after their lesson ended, telling him about random occurrences in his life and interrogating him about the team. Tooru was surprisingly knowledgeable, his questions were to the point and he often offered helpful advice.

"How come you know so much about volleyball? You used to play or something?" Kyoutani asked one day on a whim.

Oikawa nodded, his "Yes!" so enthusiastic that Kentarou wondered how he didn't bring it up himself before. "I was the setter and captain of my team in high school! Ugh, those were great times. We almost made nationals once, too!"

"How come you're not on the team now if you're so great?" Kentaou asked tactlessly.

Oikawa grimaced for a brief moment, then straightened up and smiled brightly. "Oh, just some health issues. It doesn't matter." He waved his hand dismissively. "But you never told me how much you got on your last exam! Don't think I forgot about that." Tooru wiggled his finger in his face.

Kyoutani may have not been the most preceptive of people, but Oikawa's discomfort with the subject was clear enough. _Honestly, who does he think he's fooling with that obvious topic change?_ But he let it go nevertheless. Kentarou wasn't going to press on if Tooru didn't want to talk about it. "I got 81." He grumbled instead, eyes glued to the table. He didn't tell his tutor on purpose. He knew he's make a big deal out of it, and Kyoutani hated it when the other praised his completely average grades like they were something special and not just him finally living up to the standard.

"Kyouken-chan!" As he anticipated, Oikawa gasped, jumping from his place and hurrying around the table. "I am so proud of you! You worked so hard!" He practically launched himself at Kentarou, wrapping his arms around his head and pressing it into his (unexpectedly firm) chest.

Kyoutani spluttered. "What the fuck, get off me,"

"So proud!" Tooru repeated, hugging tighter and completely ignoring him. Years of getting similar treatment from Iwaizumi must honed his ability to completely shut out any negative response to his antics. "We have to tell Iwa! He'll be so happy for you!" Only then he let him go. He grabbed his phone to, undoubtedly, text his boyfriend and tell him the news. Kyoutani, shoulders hunched up to his ears, didn't protest. Tooru texting Iwaizumi in the middle of their lesson wasn't a rare occurrence anymore, and he learned since long that all resistance is futile. Oikawa was going to do whatever the fuck he wants to no matter what he says. Beside, he knew he'd get a praise from Hajime the next time they see each other, and he really wasn't going to stop that from happening.

~

Kyoutani's life changed again one cloudy November day. Thankfully not rainy yet, just cloudy. It all started when he decided to walk to campus instead of taking a bus back from- No, it all started when he drank too much latte at the coffee shop Terushima works at- No, it all started that morning, when his roommate called him nine times in a row.

He missed the first three because he was showering after morning practice, and then decided to wait and see how many more times the other would call before he gives up. Kyoutani suspected the number would reach three digits, but he never confirmed it because he got too curious and answered the call.

"What?" He barked into the phone.

"I need a huge favor! And you can't say no! This is your way of making it up to me for not telling me Yamaguchi was gay!" Terushima said quickly. He was slightly breathless, like he's talking while walking fast.

Fuck. He eventually decided to keep the information to himself, and for about two weeks he had a constant source of amusement as Terushima kept him updated on his sudden "breakthough". The two were constantly flirting now, according to him. Kyoutani thought it was probably more along the lines of Tadashi coming onto him and Terushima stammering and making a fool of himself, but he could call it flirting if he wants to. His roommate was convinced it was his natural charm and sexiness that finally presented themselves to his crush, and enthusiastically boasted that "it was just a matter of time", and "even straight guys can't help but fall for me".

Kyoutani had no idea why Yamaguchi refrained from mentioning their meeting for whole two weeks, but he was grateful for it. When Terushima finally found out (Kyoutani forgot he wasn't supposed to say anything and mentioned meeting Yamaguchi at the club), his face was priceless. Kyoutani had never seen such a perfect light-bulb-above-my-head expression outside cartoons. His roommate was a perfect combination of shock, understanding, embarrassment and anger. It was hilarious.

"What's the favor?" He grumbled, suspicious. Knowing Terushima, it could be anything.

"I need you to cover my shift at the coffee shop. It's just four hours! I can't go, and I can't just bail without a replacement or they'll fire me and none of the others can make it. You'll get the money and the tips, of course." Terushima said.

He wouldn't even consider it such a huge favor if it wasn't for one little complication. "You know I'm not allowed to work." His frown reached all the way to his voice. "It's in the terms of my scholarship. I could lose it if anyone finds out." It was one of the things that made taking the scholarship so hard in the first place. If he was able to work and send some money back home... Maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty.

"I know, I'm sorry, I don't have anyone else to ask! It's a fancy ass shop anyway, no college students go there, no one will find out!" Terushima tried. "And the tips are great."

That much was true. Half the reason they hired Terushima was because he looked like a hipster when he wore his thick rimmed fake glasses and they liked it. Or so he says, anyway. It was a place for people who were willing to pay nearly twice as much money for a coffee half as strong.

"What about professors?" He still wasn't convinced

"Just... Duck behind the counter or something! We work in pairs anyway!" Terushima suggested desperately.

"Why can't you make it? What's so important?" He grumbled.

"Uh..." Terushima stuttered.

"If this is about Yamaguchi, Teru, I swear..." Kentarou warned.

"It is, but it's more urgent than you think!"

"Really." He deadpanned.

"Yes! He scheduled a room for a nude painting today, and let me tell you, scheduling a room is a nightmare. Anyway, this is a really, really important part of his project, and his model is standing him off. If he can't find another, he'd fail! And no, he can't do it in a regular room, because he won't be able to adjust the lighting the way he needs it to be. So I volunteered to be his model. Genius, isn't it? I hope I don't get hard in the middle though. I didn't think about that earlier, shit. That would be fucking embarrassing."

Kyoutani ignored all his stupid rambling. "So what you're basically saying is... You want me to skip classes and risk my scholarship so you can get naked in front of your crush and pose for hours to win some credit points with him?"

"Pretty much. Please?"

"Can I drink their weak ass latte while I'm there?"

"It's not allowed but everyone do it anyway, so knock yourself out. So is that a yes?" Terushima asked urgently.

Kentarou thought about it for a moment. He had a lesson with Oikawa later, but that wouldn't be until late afternoon. He should easily make it. And the timing was good; he could use a little pocket change. Free latte was a nice touch, too. "Fine. But you owe me. This is beyond not telling you about Yamaguchi."

"Yes! Done! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, whatever. You had better tap that before the end of the month, asshole."

"Doing my best over here. Okay, I gotta go, my shift supervisor will expect you. He's a tall blond dude. My shift starts at 12! Good luck!" And he hung up without waiting for any reply. Honestly, fuck Terushima.

He glanced at the clock. It was almost 11. He had to get across campus and catch a bus, too... He dressed up quickly, grabbed his phone and wallet and was out of the dorms in five minutes.

~

"What can I get you?" A tall blond asked from behind the counter. Kentarou assumed that was the shift supervisor his roommate mentioned. He looked responsible enough for the job, even if bored and apathetic.

"An apron? I'm Kyoutani. Terushima's replacement." He explained shortly, making his way behind the counter to join the other.

"Oh, good, you're here early. That little fucking shithead. I can't believe he bailed." The taller sneered. "I'm Tsukishima, by the way."

"It's for a good cause, y'know. He's gonna impress his crush by posing nude for his art project or something." Kyoutani didn't feel bad about spilling his secrets in any way. Terushima was a pretty shameless human being. He'd probably brag about it to whoever will be willing to listen anyway.

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe Tadashi actually finds him attractive and _wants_ to draw him."

"He does have the bad boy thing going for him, I guess." Kyoutani shrugged, then realized something. "Wait, how do you know Yamaguchi?"

"We've known each other since elementary school. I should ask how _you_ know him."

And suddenly it clicked. He head the name Tsukishima around the club a few times. He vaguely knew that he was Yamaguchi's best friend, Kuroo's boyfriend, and that Oikawa didn't like him because Kuroo spent all his time with the guy. He even met Kuroo once, and his impression of the guy was pretty solid even though he and Oikawa spent the entire evening gossiping about an assortment of new, hot scandals occurring on campus. Kyoutani learned way more than he needed or wanted to know about some of the professors that night.

"Oh, you're _that_ Tsukishima." Kenarou nodded once.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The other asked, wary.

"Not much. Yamaguchi mentioned you a few times. And Kuroo. And Oikawa." He grimaced at the last name.

Tsukishima joined his hands on his chest, a faint smirk curling his lips. "Oh, you go to the club then. What did you hear about me? Now I'm curious."

"Well, Yamaguchi obviously adores you. He thinks you're pretty great. And he misses you." Tsukishima's expression was still mostly blank. "Kuroo started crying and saying he misses you after he got drunk. It was pretty lame. Iwaizumi even had to take his phone away so he wouldn't call you."

Tsukishima snorted, his mouth twitching in something close to fondness. He didn't seem to mind Kentarou badmouthing his boyfriend. "Iwaizumi-san is a good guy." He said.

"He is. And Oikawa pretty much hates you because you took one of his best friends away." Kentarou shrugged.

"It's mutual." Tsukishima sneered. "I can't stand Oikawa. He's the main reason I don't go to the club."

"How come?" Kyoutani could see how some people might be annoyed with Oikawa's happy-go-lucky attitude, but he was a great guy overall. Avoiding a potential safe place for meeting new people and hanging out just because of one guy seemed exaggerated.

"You're kidding, right? He flirts with anything that even resembles a human being. Even people who already have a significant other. _While he has a boyfriend himself._ I have no idea how Iwaizumi-san can stand it."

Kyoutani's expression darkened with every word that came out of the other's mouth. Kyoutani could handle the accusations of his tutor of flirting around, but hinting he might be bad for Hajime? He couldn't let that go unanswered. "Oikawa is just touchy and likes joking around. He doesn't mean any harm by it and he'd never, ever hurt Iwaizumi." _Do we have a problem?_ His intense stare seemed to ask.

Tsukishima studied him cryptically. For a moment, he seemed surprised and somewhat impressed. "If you say so."

"I do say so." Kentarou shot right back.

Tsukishima shifted uncomfortably. "I can see you're their friend. I didn't mean to talk shit, alright? Oikawa and I just rub each other the wrong way. I'm sure he's a great guy when I'm not around."

Kyoutani nodded, making himself unclench his fists. The blond apologized and took back his words. Sort of. That was enough for him. "He is." He assured.

"Of course. Now, let me show you a few basic things before the lunch wave gets here. Ever worked a register before?" The blond's tone was all business.

Kyoutani nodded. He worked pretty much wherever he could during high school, so he had experience in all sorts of part time jobs. Tsukishima explained a few more things, Kentarou asked some questions, and by the time a costumer walked in, they were all good.

Despite their rough start, Kyoutani found himself liking the guy. Tsukishima's toxic sarcasm could most likely turn even medusa to stone. He could appreciate that kind of ability. And when Kyoutani had to deal with an exceptionally rude costumer who started yelling at him, the taller was suddenly by his side, calmly asking her to lower her voice or leave. Maybe his sarcasm could turn someone to stone, but the look he wore while basically telling her to fuck off could probably burn someone to ashes. The girl gaped up at him, shocked, before turning and walking out, her face completely red.

And beside, the latte Tsukishima made may have been weak and too sugary, but damn. It was fucking delicious. And free. Kyoutani took full advantage of the opportunity, downing one after the other. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Kentarou nearly never drinks coffee, he has enough excess energy to burn as it is. And he had never, not once in his life, drank more than one cup at a time. After the third latte, he started feeling a little jittery. He drank a a cup of water and the sensation subdued. He drank three more lattes before the four hour shift was finally over, and by the time he was out of the door he felt like an energy bomb. His pulse was racing, his chest felt too light, and he couldn't stop _moving_. The mere thought of having to sit still on a bus for fifteen minutes made him anxious.

_Walking back to campus it is,_ Kyoutani decided. It was more than an hour away on foot, but he could definitely use the fresh air. Pulling his hoodie up and shoving his hands into his pockets, Kentarou started his way back. He was right, the chill air really did help. When he could easily spot the tallest building in the university (the library), he only felt like he could sprint 10 laps instead of the 50 he was sure he could run before.

As he neared the campus, Kyoutani became aware of the fact he wouldn't be able to take the route he usually took. Apparently the road was under construction and he'd have take a detour. Kyoutani looked up. The clouds becoming heavier and denser; the filtered sunlight weak and dying out quickly. He gave a silent prayer to whichever god was listening that it wouldn't rain in the 15 minutes or so it'll take him to get back to his dorms. The first drop of rain fell on the top of his head not two seconds after the thought. Fuck all the gods and their uncles too. No, fuck it. He was taking a shortcut through that construction site and the "stay away" signs be damned.

The rain was light; small, soft drops. But the dark gray clouds promised more and he picked up the pace. The first time he heard a soft, quiet whine, he fully believed it was the wind. At the second, he stopped to look around, confused. There were no babies around. No humans around period. He strained his ears, but there was nothing. _I probably just imagined it,_ he thought. But after taking a few more steps, he was proved wrong. Something was definitely whining. And what's more, it sounded more like a cat or a dog than a human. Shit. _Keep walking, moron, you're going to get wet and sick and Iwaizumi will lecture you about staying healthy for the team,_ Kyoutani told himself.

But he couldn't. Ignoring the whining was beyond him. Animals were always his soft spot, and what if there's some poor little thing out here, all by itself, in the rain? "Fuck." He mumbled to himself. Stupid soft fucking heart. It was hard to tell where the whines came from over the sound of the rain. He whistled, loud and sharp, hoping it would prompt the animal to raise it's voice. It took two more whistles before the creature caught on (Kentarou hoped that was the case, anyway, since the alternative would mean that whatever distress they were in worsened). It came from somewhere on his right, possibly on the road. The light has gotten so weak that he had to use his phone as a flashlight out of fear he'd miss the whiny animal.

He looked down pits, inside pipes and even up the few trees on the side of the road. Maybe there was a kitten there, who knows? Finally, he pinned down the location of the whines. They were definitely coming from a small tractor. He looked under it, but that wasn't it. _Is he inside the thing? Did a worker leave him there?_ He was already getting angry at the thought that some dumb fucking construction worker left an animal trapped overnight inside a-

_No, wait, there it is!_ He spotted a small form curled on top of the wheel, where it was easy to miss. The light from his phone told him it was a small black (possibly just dirty) puppy. A fucking puppy. How did he get there? He didn't look more than a two months old. Kyoutani should know, he worked at the animal shelter back at home for a while. His favorite part time job from his high school days.

"Hey there, little buddy," he tried cooing him out of there. Slowly, careful not to intimidate it, he offered his fingers for the tiny animal to sniff. It was always a good idea to make sure they associate your smell with safety at first contact. This animal was so desperate that it enthusiastically accepted a foreign hand, rubbing its cold nose into his palm. It broke Kyoutani's heart. The poor thing. Once the puppy accepted his hand, scooping him up into his chest wasn't difficult at all.

The first thing he noticed was the lack of tail. Some dog breeds have short tails, true, but not labradors, and this one was at least half labrador. For one stressful moment he thought someone cut it off, but the puppy didn't seem in any kind of pain, and there wasn't a stump. Just black fur where his tail is supposed to be. A birth defect, most likely. He was underweight, smelled bad and shivered uncontrollably, whining all the while. Kentarou would suck a dick if it meant for this tiny creature to be warm and well fed until the day he dies. But then again, he'd probably suck a dick regardless. He hasn't gotten laid much since University started.

Kyoutani was soaking more and more water, but the puppy was relatively dry even if he cried a lot, and so he decided it would be best to put him under his clothes. Keep him dry, at least. Once the creature was contentedly settled against his heartbeat, he stopped crying so much, too. Good. Half running now, Kentarou renewed his way to the dorms. He had no idea what he'd do with this little thing. Getting him to a warm place and feeding him was the only thing on his mind. He'd have to be careful sneaking him in, though, since animals weren't allowed. He didn't worry about Terushima ratting him out; He wouldn't to that. Probably. Worst case scenario, he could pull the "you owe me card" on him, even if it would be a shame to use it so quickly.

On his way, Kyoutani thought about his options. Of course, he could give the puppy away to an animal shelter... But no. Animal shelters were a last fucking option. Grown animals barely got everything they need, and puppies were a lot more demanding. They were usually adopted pretty quickly, sure, but this one had a defect... people don't like that. No. He'd try to find another solution. Maybe someone would want him. For the first time in his life, Kyoutani wished he knew more people, just so he could spread the word and find him a home as quickly as possible.

The rain grew stronger, and by the time he arrived at his room (without anyone noticing him, fortunately), Kyoutani was completely soaked. But not the puppy, he noted proudly. He was now warm, though still dirty and stinky. And hungry. As soon as he pulled the tiny creature out, waking him from a short nap apparently, he started trying to nibble on his fingers with little needy sounds.

"Alright, alright," He grumbled. Holding him against his side in one hand, Kyoutani looked through their mini fridge for something appropriate for a puppy. Of course, formula would be best, but since he felt teeth earlier, it meant he could eat meat too. Their fridge was almost sad. Some cheese. Moldy bread. Takeout leftovers... And of course they were all noodle and no meat. Fuck. Not that he'd give the puppy meat with so much seasoning, but he was a little hungry himself.

Just as he considered going out again to buy something suitable for the puppy to eat, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and was met with the picture of Oikawa winking at him. He vaguely remembered the man messing with his phone a few days ago, at their last session, and this must be what he did. Ew. Wait, shit. _Their session._ It was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago, fuck.

He pressed the green symbol and quickly said, "I can't make it today."

"What? Why not? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Tooru demanded.

"I-just, ugh. I didn't know earlier, okay? I'm sorry." He said hurridly

"Is everything okay?" Tooru's tone was so concerned that Kyoutani felt an urge to assure him everything was fine

"Yeah- I just... found a puppy."

"You what? Kyouken-chan, if you didn't want to see me you could have just said so. Standing me up and then making such a bad excuse is so rude!" Oikawa teased, clearly not believing him.

Kyoutani wasn't really in the mood for jokes. "Not funny. I found him in the rain and he doesn't have a tail, just so you know. I have an actual, flesh and blood puppy, and he's hungry, so if you'll excuse me I'm going to find him something to eat." He was about to hang up when Oikawa's practically screamed into his ear.

"Wait! Are you serious? You saved a puppy, for real? I wanna see! I love puppies! Where are you now?" In the backround, Kyoutani could hear people shushing him, and Tooru shushing them back and saying it's an emergency. Honestly, this ridiculous man. Making a fuss about a puppy.

"I'm at the dorms, where the fuck else would I be?" and yet, Kyoutani couldn't help the fondness that warmed his chest. Getting so excited over a little puppy was endearing and- Wait, no, that wasn't the fondness warming his chest. The puppy was staring up at him apologetically while still peeing on him. "You are so fucking lucky to be cute," he mumbled at him.

"Kyouken-chan! Did you just call me cute?" Oikawa gasped at him.

"The fuck? Of course not, I was talking to the puppy." He scoffed.

"Oh. Rude. Whatever. What room are you in?"

"304. And can you get meat on your way here?" Kentarou asked. "Just like... sausage or something. I don't have anything to give the puppy."

"Of course!" Oikawa chirped at his ear. "I'll go to the mini supermarket, it's on the way anyway. Aaah! I'm so excited!" Oikawa squealed some more in his ear.

"Okay, yeah, bye." Kyoutani didn't wait for a reply this time and hung up immediately, throwing his phone on the bed. "Look at me, you little shit." He addressed the puppy. "Next time you pee on me... I probably won't do anything, because you're really cute. But I'm not happy about this." He said sternly.

The tiny creature barked at him enthusiastically and tried nibbling on his fingers again. Kyoutani sighed. Okay. First, he needs to change out of his clothes. Probably take a shower. Maybe the puppy should join him. He had a feeling Oikawa would appreciate it, too, if the puppy didn't smell so bad. Okay, it's settled then.

He dumped all his clothes in the basket, then stepped into the shower, taking the puppy with him. Trying to keep an eye on the little animal while soaping up properly proved a more difficult task than he anticipated, and took him longer than expected. At least the water was warm, so the puppy didn't resist much.

He rubbed the puppy dry first, then himself, before wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping back into the room. Not more than two seconds after he did, the door to the room opened and a very excited Oikawa stuck his head in, exclaiming, "Puppy!"

Kyoutani startled, nearly dropping the creature. "What the fuck, Oikawa?! Ever hear of knocking?!" he spluttered, his face heating up quickly. _Why did he have to come in now?_ He thought in despair. He still had drops of water hanging on his skin, and being naked in front of someone outside the changing room was very different. The fact only the both of them were in the room didn't help either.

Oikawa had enough decency to look embarrassed, but not enough to exit the room and wait outside. "Sorry, sorry. But puppy! Ugh, she's so cute!" he squealed, setting down the plastic bag he brought with him and clapping excitedly. "Can I hold her?" He begged, looking at Kentarou with wide eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Why did you assume it's a female, though?" He handed the flailing puppy over.

"I donnu. Her face seems feminine." The taller shrugged.

"Huh. Well, whatever. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to put some clothes on. Think you can refrain from bursting into the shower while I'm naked?" He had no idea what prompted this semi flirtatious tease, but it was out of his mouth before he knew it. Kyoutani immediately felt bad, like he was somehow betraying Iwaizumi's trust.

Oikawa, though, didn't mind it at all. "Pfft, you're overestimating yourself. The puppy is way more interesting." He didn't even glance at Kyoutani as he said the words, instead staring at the puppy in awe. Kentarou could relate. Now that she (He decided to follow Oikawa's instinct, this time) was clean, even if still a bit damp, she was even cuter. She was black, as he thought, but two of her legs and a part of her nose were white.

"You're welcomed to feed her or let her eat your shirt, I don't care either way." Kyoutani said as he grabbed the first boxers, sweatpants and sweatshirt he laid eyes on. Oikawa bursting into his room while he's more than half naked must have put him more out of his element than he realized, because he accidentally slammed the bathroom door behind him.

A minute later he came back into the room, finding Oikawa sitting on his bed with the puppy sitting in his lap and happily eating pieces of pastrami out of the man's hand.

Tooru's shining eyes snapped up to him as he approached and he whispered, "So precious."

"Yeah." Kyoutani agreed. He didn't mean the puppy, though. Awe suited Oikawa's features. He sat next to the other on the bed, making sure to leave a gap between their thighs.

"What are you going to do with her? Are you even allowed to keep her here?" Oikawa asked as he scratched behind her ear with one hand and fed her still with the other.

"I don't know, and no." He answered shortly. "I'll figure something out." He shrugged.

"Mhmm. What about an animal shelter? I think they have one at-"

"No." Kentarou cut him off. "I'm sure you noticed she doesn't have a tail already. People don't like disfigured animals. I'll find something else."

"Oh no! Poor thing! I thought that was how she was supposed to look!" Oikawa's expression softened as he picked the puppy up, pressing her into his chest. She had no idea what was going on, but wagged her tail eagerly anyway, as dogs often do. Kyoutani could understand her happiness. Sinking into that chest couldn't feel too bad. _No, stop it,_ he scolded himself mentally.

"Look at me! I'm such a tiny little cute adorable little thing and I love Tooru so much! I want to sleep in his lap and eat from his hand and get all his belly rubs!" Oikawa said in a too-high-too-sweet voice.

Kentarou snorted loudly. "You're ridiculous." He deadpanned.

"No, _you're_ ridiculous." Tooru huffed.

"Whatever you say, Mr.I just voiced a puppy to say she loves me. If I hold a piece of meat for her, she'll fight you to come to me."

Incredulous, Oikawa gasped. "She wouldn't do that! She loves me!" He protested.

"Oh yeah?" Kyoutani cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Yes!" Oikawa insisted, embracing the puppy to his chest protectively.

As a response, Kyoutani reached over Oikawa's lap to the box containing the salami slices and grabbed two. The puppy caught the smell even before Kentarou's hand returned all the way, and immediately started wriggling in the taller's grip, whining. She was definitely loud, that one.

"She's still here and she loves me." Oikawa bluntly ignored the truth.

Kentarou snorted. "Just because you're holding her too tight. Let her go. At this rate, someone might hear her and I'll be screwed."

"Fine. But she stills loves me the most." Oikawa pouted. Fuck, why was he so cute when he did that?

The puppy shot straight for the food once she was free, gulping it down in a few short bites. When she was done, she licked his fingers for whatever leftover taste they still had. "Gimme that," He mumbled, gesturing at the meat.

Surprisingly, Oikawa didn't say anything as he handed it over.

After a few moments of silently feeding the puppy, a realization struck Kyoutani. This was the first time since they met, that he and Oikawa were alone. In the library, cafeteria, or clubroom there were always other people around, Iwaizumi included. He wasn't sure how that realization made him feel beside the fact it made him hyper aware of the taller's presence. And as a consequence, vaguely guilty about somehow betraying Iwaizumi's trust again. When he glanced over at Tooru, he saw he was fiddling with his phone. _Did he already get bored of the puppy?_ Kyoutani frowned but didn't say anything.

"What should we name her?" Oikawa finally broke the silence.

"I donnu. Doesn't matter. Whoever takes her is going to give her a different name anyway." He muttered, scratching the side of her neck gently.

"Me and Iwa are taking her, I just asked him and he's up for it." Oikawa said casually, like taking in a dog wasn't a big deal. "So what should we name her? You can totally have a say in this, since you found her." Oikawa grinned at him.

"I-what? Are you serious? Do you have any idea how much hard work a dog is? You have to constantly give her attention, especially at this age, and have money for food, vaccines. Taking her for walks. She'll chew on all your shoes. This is not something you decided on a whim." Kentarou's disapproval was apparent in his voice and expression.

"Are you done?" Oikawa asked, and without waiting for an answer continued, "We have talked _a lot_ about it for the last couple of months, this is not on a whim, don't worry." Oikawa assured him.

A little embarressed, Kentarou looked away when he mumbled gruffly, "Oh. Uh. Okay. Sorry." It made sense for a couple as steady as them to adopt a dog together at some point.

"But Kyouken-chan! I never heard you talk so passionately about something other than volleyball before!" Tooru clapped his hands once. "What's the deal? Had a dog when you were a kid or something?"

Kyoutani groaned. "I used to work at an animal shelter. Too many people throw their dogs away after they grow up and stop being so cute. Pisses me off."

"Oh! Kyouken-chan! Who hates people! Is so compassionate towards animals! How charming!" Oikawa faked a swoon.

Kyoutani scowl deepened. Was he mocking him? "The fuck? I don't hate people."

"Name ten people in this university you like." He challenged him, obviously teasing.

"I don't have to prove myself to you." Kyoutani growled, suddenly defensive. Why the fuck was Oikawa attacking him anyway?

"Hey. It's okay, Kyou-chan, we don't all have to like people." Oikawa said gently, not a drop of teasing in his words this time. "Iwa doesn't like most people around, too. It's not a bad thing or anything."

"Oh." The sound emitted from his mouth softly. Shit. He just got defensive for no reason and almost snapped at Oikawa. He completely misread the situation. Why was he always so ready to assume people are judging him? Fuck. And Tooru was being so sweet about it, too. Kyoutani looked down, his jaw tightening. He had no idea how to respond, what he can say to defuse the awkwardness.

"So. How are we going to call her?" He repeated. "Or maybe we should wait for Iwa? I guess he should have a say too, even though he's so unimaginative." Oikawa leaned back, his hands on the covers behind him. It suddenly occurred to Kyoutani that he hasn't washed those in more than a month, and that his entire room was a mess. Oikawa didn't seem to mind, though.

"What do you mean wait for Iwa? Is he coming here?" He asked.

"Oh? Uh, yeah. That's fine, right? He just wanted to see her too before deciding for sure, but there's no way he'll say no." Oikawa straightened up, snatching the puppy from Kentarou's hands and rubbing his face into her as he said the next words, "She's just too cute! So small and precious! She's the size of a bean! Like a really big bean, but still!"

Kyoutani snorted again, fighting down the fondness he felt. "It's fine." He assured the other. Maybe if Iwaizumi gets there, he won't feel so awkward and weird with only Oikawa and himself in the room.

It took almost fifteen minutes for the man to get there. Fortunately, Tooru was well practiced at keeping conversations going, even faced with the verbal failures Kyoutani was. He blabbed on about some drama at his physics class at first, then started asking questions about a topic Kyoutani actually knew about: How to take care of dogs. He explained what this little puppy might need in the near future, and in a surge of courage even offered to come by a few times and show them basic training tricks. Oikawa accepted gratefully. The puppy ran from one lap to the other, chasing their fingers, until she effectively tired herself out and lay across Tooru's thigh, eyes closed.

Three rapid knocks on the door came while Oikawa was in the middle of complaining how long it was taking his boyfriend to get there. "It's open!" the taller called. Kyoutani glared at him. Answering the door in someone else's house. Dorm. Whatever. What terrible manners. And coming from Kentarou, it means a lot.

Iwaizumi opened the door slowly, peeping in hesitantly. "Oh, good," He visibly relaxed as he saw them. "I wasn't sure I got the right room, Kyou told me number... Maybe even three or four months ago." He shrugged, stepping in and closing the door behind him. Kyotani tried not to let the fact he remembered one tiny detail from months ago get to him. He failed.

"Iwa-chan! Iwa-chaaan! Look how cute and precious she is!" Oikawa waved his boyfriend closer enthusiastically, pointing at the animal in his lap with his other hand.

A soft sound escaped Hajime at the sight of the puppy. He fell to his knees at Tooru's feet to take a better look at the tiny creature, raising one hand to poke at the fluffy fur of her head. "It's cute." He said.

"'It'?" Oikawa huffed incredulously. "It's a 'she', Hajime! You're being mean to your tiny daughter."

Iwaizumi snorted and chuckled. "Whatever you say. Hey Kyou, did he do the thing where he dubs the puppy into saying it-" Oikawa inhaled sharply and Iwaizumi made a sour face, correcting himself, "She. loves him?"

"Oh, yeah. It was really lame." Kentarou answered.

Hajime nodded along, while Oikawa huffed and puffed and pouted. "You two are ganging up on me!" He blamed them.

Kyoutani and Iwaizumi shared an exasperated look and without even acknowledging the third male, changed the subject. "So what about her name?" Hajime asked.

Frustrated, Oikawa threw his hands in the air. "I would say something about how we were just talking about it and that I have a few suggestions if you hadn't just ignored me!"

"So, Kyou?" Iwaizumi turned to him, bluntly ignoring his boyfriend again. Said boyfriend let out a whiny noise of frustration, which only prompted Kentarou to play along.

"I'm not really good with names, but maybe something that has to with the white patches she has?" He suggested.

Iwaizumi nodded along thoughtfully. "Maybe Socks? Because those kind of look like socks."

"What?! No! That's an awful name! It should be something cuter! Like Betty!" Tooru tried again.

Kentarou turned to look at him with disgust on his features. "The fuck kind of name is Betty? Sounds like a Cow's name."

"Rude." Oikawa huffed, taking the puppy in his hand to press her to his chest again. "At least Betty likes me." The puppy nuzzled her nose into his neck, which made Tooru's expression turn obnoxiously smug.

"How about Boots? They can look like boots too." Hajime voiced his thoughts out loud.

"And then Oikawa can still call her by that stupid ass name and it'll sound like a nickname or something." Kentarou shrugged. Boots and Betty were close enough. As long as no one tries to call her "booty", he'd be fine with it. It'd be better to stick to just one name for a few months though, to make sure she recognizes it. He'll tell them about it later, he decided.

"That actually doesn't sound so bad." Hajime said.

Humming, Oikawa took a few seconds to thing about it before agreeing. "Okay. I'm gonna call her Bitty, though. It's cuter than Betty."

And Boots was her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess their dorms are like... really luxurious? With a mini fridge and a shower for each room?? Uni for rich kids idk  
> Kudos and comments are always highly appreciated, of course~  
> And if you really like it, you can even share it on tumblr [here](http://etstruball.tumblr.com/post/151619683360/hardest-of-hearts-etstrubal-haikyuu-archive) (or just hmu to talk about Kyou that's cool too)


	4. Weird ass day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoutani has a weird day. Also his birthday. Not at the same day tho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hysteric laughter*  
> Enjoy. This is probably my fav chapter yet.  
> Oh, yeah, uh, also, nsfw warning. Explicit too.

Strong hands held him down, pushing his back gently down so his chest will sink into the mattress. Kyoutani played along happily, his ass sticking out even more, pushing back onto the fingers lodged up his entrance. A blissful moan escaped him, loud and lingering, when the fingers curled inside him. Behind him, Oikawa chuckled, the sound wild around the edges.

It was hot. So very hot. He was burning from the inside out. His skin was sticky with sweat. How much longer would he have to wait before something thicker and more satisfying would enter him? He squirmed, whimpering, and Oikawa chuckled again.

"Hajime? I think he's ready for you. Or wants it bad enough that it shouldn't matter." His voice had a strange airy quality to it.

Suddenly, Iwaizumi was next to him on the bed. "Beautiful." He said, looking directly into his eyes. Kentarou preened at the compliment. "Do you want to ride me? Or should I take you from behind?" His impossibly deep, lust filled voice asked.

He couldn't answer. He didn't know what he wanted. He couldn't talk, even if he did know. So instead, he groaned and squirmed needily back into Tooru's fingers.

"I think he'll look better riding your cock," Oikawa advised knowingly.

"I concur." Iwaizumi agreed.

Tooru's fingers pulled back from inside him and he whimpered, mourning their loss. "Shh, it'll only be a moment now." The tall man assured, smoothing a hand over the skin of his back.

Two sets of hands manhandled him to straddle Hajime's lap. Iwaizumi held his waist, steadying him. Kyoutani braced his hands on the man's firm chest, while Oikawa spread his cheeks and guided the thick cock to his entrance. He forced his tense muscle to relax, and in a moment the head was already pushing into him. His hole was stretched beyond Oikawa's preparations and it burned, but in the best way possible. A stream of small, breathy moans escaped him as they slowly lowered him to take more and more of Hajime's cock, filling him up.

"Yes," He mumbled, head tipped back, when Iwaizumi was finally all the way inside. He had no idea he could ever feel this incredibly _full_. Hajime gave him a moment before he started moving his hips, his motions small at the beginning. He wanted to help, to move his body against the other's, but he was frozen. "Please..." He breathed out. He needed more. He couldn't move, and he was so hot, and he just needed _more_.

Iwaizumi got the hint and started slamming into him more forcefully, filling him up deliciously with every thrust, rubbing against his prostate and making him cry out loudly. It was so hot... Why couldn't he move? He wanted to ride him properly... And where was Oikawa? Suddenly Kyoutani noticed the other man had disappeared. When did that happen? He turned back to look, but the room was empty. He turned back to the man he was riding, but he wasn't Hajime anymore. It was Tooru, who smirked up at him and slammed his hips down into his cock so hard that he woke up.

_Fuck, again?_ Was Kentarou's first conscious thought that morning. He was wrapped up in what felt like a million blankets, sweating furiously, his cock achingly hard and straining against his boxers. Not the first time he woke up in this state, not by far. But lately, it's been happening more and more.

He suspected it had a lot to do with how much time he spent with the couple, and how much more familiar they became. The more Tooru and Hajime got to know him, and he got to know them and be more comfortable with their presence, the more touchy they both became.

Oikawa, who was always relatively touchy with him (and everyone else), was outdoing himself. Just the other day when he was over at their apartment watching a movie, the tall man lay down on the couch and put his head in Kyoutani's fucking lap. He had tensed at the intimate touch, his head immediately snapping to the side to see Iwaizumi's reaction. The man glanced at them once, shrugged, and went back to watching the movie like there was nothing unusual to see. Kentarou's hands tingled at his sides with the urge to touch the soft, shiny hair, run the fingers through it. But he didn't. Couldn't. He felt awkward and weird for most of the movie, until the moment a particularly exciting scene roused Oikawa into jumping and yelling at the screen as he often did. His head didn't return to his thigh after that. Kyoutani wasn't sure if the sudden loss of warmth was a relief or if it was missed.

And even Iwaizumi, who was naturally more reserved, like him, now casually slung a hand over his shoulder at any occasion, bumped their shoulders, or ruffled his hair fondly after a particularly successful spike.

Sometimes he half-suspected they were teasing him on purpose. Just to watch him turn stiff and awkward. But no, they wouldn't do that. They were both good people, each in his own way.

But that didn't mean their behavior didn't still effect him. Greatly. He was growing more sexually frustrated by the day. Terushima suggested hooking him up with one of his friends a few more times, but he always refused. Trying to imagine doing it with someone who wasn't Oikawa or Iwaizumi or both was weird. Foreign even. That's how far his head was up their asses, and regrettably for him, not even literally. He'd have to seriously start working on making this stupid double crush disappear. It was fucking up his sleep now, and he couldn't let that offense slide. If only he knew how to stop a crush.

It would probably be a good idea to distance himself from them but... He couldn't afford to. Not anymore. They were his hard earned friends, and he wasn't going to fuck that on purpose..

He spent about a third of his afternoons at their place now, teaching them about Boots of course, but also just casually hanging out and watching movies. Morning runs with Hajime became morning walks with Hajime and Boots, which were in no way less delightful. Oikawa and and him even cooked together in a couple occasions. He forgot how much he missed cooking. Back at home, he used to cook all the time for his younger siblings when their mother worked long shifts, but since he didn't have any equipment back at the dorms other than a microwave, he was unable to. 

Things were going well. Great, even. He was determined to keep it that way.

Off to jerk off in the shower it is.

**__________**

Three days before his 20th birthday, Kyoutani had the weirdest day since he started university. Iwaizumi and him walked side by side after morning practice, their gym bags hanging from their shoulders, chatting about nothing in particular. The slightly shorter male asked something about his schedule, and he patted down his pockets to look for his phone. It wasn't there, or in his bag. _Fuck._

"Maybe I left it in my locker." It was a far stretch, but better than believing he actually lost it.

"Yeah man. I gotta run to class, but you go back and check. I'm sure you'll find it." Hajimd smiled at him encouragingly.

He expected the changing room to be empty when he walked back in. Instead, he was met with an image so bizarre he stopped in his tracks, completely forgetting why he came there. Ushijima, their stoic, blank faced by-the-book ace was pressing some redhead dude into the lockers, both hands squeezing his ass, their lips glued together. Fuck. He kind of assumed the guy was asexual because he always seemed so disinterested in anything even remotely sexual. But the knee shoved between the redhead's thighs proved him wrong.

"Holy shit." Kentarou said slowly, eyes wide.

The redhead startled, pulling back from his partner and untangling his hand from the short brown hair. Ushijima just growled, possibly annoyed for the disturbance, and turned back to look at him.

"I didn't know you were gay." Was all his stunned mind was able to come up with.

Amazingly enough, "Yeah well, me neither." Were the man's next words, said casually enough to fit in an afternoon tea party with his grandmother.

Kentarou had no idea how to react to that, but luckily Ushijima's partner spoke up before things became too awkward.

"Oh! I know you!" The redhead injected suddenly, peeking from behind a broad shoulder. Kentarou realized he knows him too.

"Tendou?" He asked incredulously. He was one of the semi-regulars at the lgtb club, an overly friendly guy who liked telling dirty jokes. They never connected much, but that might've been just because Kentarou spent most of his time there with Oikawa and Iwaizumi instead of trying to meet new people. He wondered what kind of miracle had to happen to make this mismatched couple lock lips. Maybe it was an extreme case of opposites attract or something.

"Kyouken-chan!" The redhead exclaimed, obviously proud to remember his name.

Kentarou winced. It wasn't the first time someone called him by Oikawa's horrible nickname, but it was Tendou's last one. "Just... Kyoutani. I hate Oikawa for giving me that nickname."

"Oh. Okay then. Kyoutani." Tendou agreed, nodding slowly.

"So now when we're all clear about everyone's sexualities and proper names, would you mind removing yourself from the room?" Ushijima requested calmly. His hands never left the man's ass, and his knee remained where it was when Kyoutani walked in. If anything, he may have moved it a bit higher between the other's thighs. What the fuck? No decency.

"Oh, yeah. Yes. Of course. I just came to check if I left my phone here." The blond grumbled awkwardly, quickly walking over to his locker. It wasn't there. Fuck. He really couldn't afford a new phone. _Maybe I left it in my room?_ He wondered. Two sets of eyes followed him as he walked back out. "You two, uh, have fun." He couldn't help himself from saying right before he exited the room.

"Thanks! We will!" Tendou called after him enthusiastically. No fucking shame there.

After that oddity he headed back to his room, wondering if Terushima is there and he could tell him what just happened. He wasn't a huge gossip, but this particular occurrence begged to be let out. And yeah, maybe spending time with the greatest gossip on campus, aka Oikawa Tooru, also helped loosen his tongue on matters he previously would have no problem keeping to himself.

His mind wandered as he walked back to the dorms. He thought about Boots, how fast she's growing, his homework, cool cloud shapes, his younger siblings who he hadn't had much time to talk to lately... Maybe he'd save some time this evening just to read them a story over the phone. He could make one up, since obviously he doesn't have any children books with him.

He just started constructing a story in his mind for later when he opened his dorm room's door and was met with yet another highly disturbing image. His roommate, naked from the waist down, was on his knees, bent over the bed. Angel faced Yamaguchi was behind behind him, currently in the process of shoving a very pink dildo up Terushima's ass.

As soon as he opened the door both their heads snapped to look at him. At least this time his instincts kicked in and he immediately slammed it shut it with a loud "What the fuck!"

Shocked, he started walking back down the corridor, trying his hardest to wipe the mental image from his memory. It was like trying not to think about a pink elephant, and he failed miserably. Muffled, he heard Yuuji's voice ask, "You didn't lock the door?!" And if Tadashi ever answered, Kentarou was already too far away to hear it. Evidently, though, he had not locked the door.

What the actual fuck. The last time he checked, they were barely past kissing, and now Yamaguhi was shoving dildos up his ass? And didn't Terushima once tell him he was strictly a top? He assumed that the sweet, skinny, green haired boy would bottom for him, but seems he was wrong. Maybe his roommate liked him more than he let on. Kentarou was nearly out of the building when he remembered his phone. "Fuck." He turned around, pissed off, and stomped back to his room.

He banged his fist against the door three times then yelled, "I don't care what you two nasty shits are doing, but I really need my fucking phone, so whichever one of you has a _clean_ hand, get me my fucking phone!"

"One second!" Yamaguchi shrieked back. He heard some giggling, something knocking over and more giggling before the door opened to a thin crack. "We are so, so sorry," Tadashi apologized as he handed him the phone.

Kyoutani didn't even look at him as he snatched it and gruffly muttered, "Yeah, whatever. Just tell Teru to wash the fucking sheets afterwards. And lock the fucking door next time." He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look at any of them again without recalling what his eyes witnessed.

"Err, of course, we're really sorry again." Yamaguchi repeated.

"S'whatever." Kentarou muttered. Just turning away to leave seemed rude somehow, so he mumbled an awkward "Uh, bye." Before padding away where he came from.

"Bye." Yamaguchi called weakly after him. He heard the door close and the lock turn this time.

Jesus. He hoped he didn't ruin their sexy time or whatever. Actually, he kind of hoped he did, on a second thought. They'd deserve it. Who the fuck plays with fucking dildos in the middle of the day and doesn't even lock the door properly?

Kyoutani stomped his way across campus with a deep scowl on his face that earned him a few weird looks. He must have looked like he was on his way to commit murder. He forced his jaw to relax, the lines between his eyebrows smoothen, and his feet to slow down. Deep breath after another, the agitation slowly dissipated. He was nearly at the cafeteria when he realized he didn't actually have any idea where he was going.

And his gym bag was still slinging from his shoulder, because of course he fucking forgot to put it back in his room under the circumstances he encountered. Fuck. What a weird fucking day. He wasn't particularly hungry but knew he should eat anyway, so he bought a pack of protein cookies and a smaller pack of chocolate cookies (because fuck, he deserved those), then went looking for a private corner to eat them. He was a little scared searching remote corners of the campus, though. Who knows what horrors he'll encounter next?

Turns out the only horror he found was Oikawa. The taller sat behind a tree on the edge of campus, hidden from most prying eyes. His eyes nearly swept past him, but at the last moment caught a glimpse of wavy hair. He would recognize those light brown locks anywhere.

"Oikawa?" He asked hesitantly as he made his way over.

"I- Wha- Kyouken-chan! What a nice surprise!" The man scrambled to his feet hurridly, turning to look at him with a wide smile.

He wasn't fooling Kentarou for a second. His eyes were pink and puffy, his nose slightly runny, his hair not exactly a mess but less perfect than usual. His lower lip was trembling, for fuck's sake. He was obviously crying out there, alone. Kyoutani's heart did a funny thing where it pretended to be a lemon being squeezed. "Shit, are you okay? What happened?" He blurted out, quickly closing the distance between them, but not touching him yet. Fuck. He was so bad at comforting people. He had no idea if he should hug him or pat his shoulder or maybe just leave him the fuck alone.

Luckily, Tooru seemed to know exactly what he wanted. He let out a noise somewhere between a whine and a sob, and in one stride closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around the smaller. The sudden touch sent waves of electricity down his spine and limbs. Shocked, it took Kyoutani more than a few seconds to hesitantly return the hug, awkwardly rubbing the other's back. Fuck, he really was bad at this. Oikawa didn't seem to mind, though. He buried his face in the crook of his neck, wetting it with what Kentarou hoped were tears and not snot.

After a little while, Oikawa pulled back, rubbing his eyes. "M'sorry. I don't really want to talk about it yet..." He mumbled.

"Yeah, uh, that's fine. You don't have to." He mumbled, his shoulders hunched. "You want me to stay or...?"

"Stay." Oikawa begged.

"Yeah, okay, I don't have any classes for another hour. You wanna sit down?" The shorter suggested hesitantly, gesturing at the well kept grass.

Tooru nodded, slowly sitting down on the ground with his legs crossed. Kyoutani dropped his bag and sat next to him.

"Tell me a funny joke." The other suddenly demanded.

"I don't really know any good jokes." Kyoutani apologized. He tried thinking up something funny anyway, and realized he may have just the thing. "Although... Some really weird stuff happened today, if you wanna hear about it." He suggested.

"Okay." Tooru sniffled.

"Alright so. After practice, I realized I didn't have my phone with me, so I decided to go back to the locker room and look for it. Only it was already occupied. Fucking Ushijima was there- You know Ushijima right?"

Tooru nodded but didn't elaborate further.

"Right, okay. So he's all over some dude, making out, rubbing him, hair tugging, the whole package. I didn't recognize the guy at first but-"

Oikawa squealed loudly. "Who was it?! Ew! Who'd touch Ushiwaka anyway? And I thought he was straight! what the fuck!"

Kyoutani snorted and chuckled. When he told the story to Tooru, it seemed funnier and much less traumatizing. "I know, I know. But hold on, fuck, I'll tell you everything."

"Okay, okay. I'm shutting up now." Oikawa perked up, the same light in his eyes as when he gossiped with Kuroo.

"Also, uh, you can't spread the word or some shit, alright? I donnu if it's cool with them."

Oikawa agreed grudgingly.

"Okay, so anyway. I'm like "I didn't know you were gay dude" and Ushijima just casually goes "Yeah, me neither"! Jesus fuck, that dude is something." Kyoutani shook his head as Tooru hollered with laughter.

"And then the dude he's making out with sticks his head and we fucking recognize each other. You wouldn't believe this, Tooru, this is beyond fucking weird." As he was getting further into the story, Kyoutani realized he was actually really enjoying telling it. Oikawa looked at him expectantly, but didn't say anything, as promised. "It was the fucking weirdo with the red hair, Tendou."

Oikawa lost it. He shrieked, slapping Kentarou's thigh with more force he knew the other had. "Oh my god! This is gold! Of course Tendou will hit that, god. I can kind of see it. Maybe Ushijima thinks he could steal some of Tendou's youth and stop being such a grumpy old man. Ha!" Oikawa snorted. He didn't look like he's about to burst into tears any time soon, so Kentarou took it as a victory. He considered telling him about Terushima and Yamaguchi too, but he actually gave a crap about their private business. What he witnessed was too private, he really shouldn't tell anyone, he decided.

Kyoutani told him the rest of what happened at the locker room quickly, satisfied by the way Oikawa shook with laughter.

"The way I know Tendou, he'll tell anyone himself anyway. The moment I hear something about them, I'm telling Kuroo everything, okay?" Oikawa kept the hand on his thigh as he asked for permission.

"Sure. Just leave my name out of it." He shrugged. The heat on his thigh was distracting, but not enough to make him lose his cool.

"God. This is such a great story. Thanks, Kyou." The other student smiled at him a warm, _real_ smile, like the one at the library when he thanked him for being Iwaizumi's friend. Full of genuine gratitude. It was warmer on his skin than the actual sun rays.

"Sure, uh, it's really nothing." He mumbled, shrugging. But fuck. Not only the smile, but he called him Kyou too. Every time Iwaizumi or Oikawa called him by the nickname it made a ball of something warm coil in his gut. Why did it have to sound so nice from their mouths? He really didn't want to know what it'd feel like if they say his first name. He kind of did want to know though. But also kind of didn't. "You want cookies? I got some earlier." Kyoutani finally broke the moment. Sugar is always a good idea to make people happier, right?

"As long as it's not the gross protein ones." Oikawa agreed with a cackle.

Kentarou snorted. "Don't worry, they're chocolate chips." He dug through his bag, retrieving both kinds and throwing the smaller pack at the other.

"Nice. These are super tasty. Thanks."

They ate quietly for a little while.

"You want to tell me what happened now?" Kyoutani finally broke the silence. He didn't want to push Tooru, but he _was_ getting pretty curious.

"Uh..." The other slowly lowered the hand that was already halfway to his mouth, eventually putting the cookie back into the bag. "I had another physiotherapy session today." He said hesitantly.

When he didn't provide more information, Kyoutani urged him on. "I didn't know you do Physiotherapy. What's it for? You were in some accident or something?"

"Something like that. You know how I told you once I used to play volleyball in high school?"

Kyoutani nodded. He remembered clearly how uncomfortable the other seemed at that moment, and how he thought it was weird.

Oikawa took a deep, steadying breath. "I was obssessed with getting better, jumping higher, hitting more accurately. And even though Iwaizumi tried to stop me, I over-trained all the time, like a stupid teen who doesn't know it'll fuck up his body. And I busted both knees. One is worse than the other, and they usually don't hurt anymore, but..." He took another breath, shakier this time. "I was always hoping I could play again. Even just as a hobby. But today, when I asked about it, the doctor said it'll take another three or four years at least, and even then I'll have to take it easy and blah blah blah."

"Oh. Fuck, it must be so hard for you, I can't imagine. I'm sorry." Kyoutani had no idea what else he could say, so he hesitantly placed his hand on Oikawa's shoulder and squeezed a little. _That's encouraging or some shit, right? Fuck I have no idea what if it's totally weird and-_

"Thank you." Tooru said softly. His smile was still sad, but braver than before. "For everything. The cookies and telling me about Ushijima and f-fucking Tendou," He started laughing again at the memory of the story, and Kentarou joined him. He wasn't sure when was the last time he laughed so much. It was refreshing. Healing, almost.

They talked, exchanging more funny stories and laughing until Kentarou's time was up and he had to go to class. Oikawa, now no longer on the verge of tears, his eyes no longer puffy and reddened, smiled freely at him as he walked him to his class.

"Friday is your birthday, right?" The taller asked moments before the bell rang.

"How'd you know that?" Kentarou asked suspiciously.

"I have my sources." Tooru winked at him, something that wasn't a rare occurrence anymore. "Anyway," He continued without waiting for a response. "Hajime and I have been meaning to ask you if you wanted to do something with us maybe? I wanted to throw a party but Hajime said you'll probably kill me, so we compromised for a nice movie night with cake maybe. I mean, if you're free and you wanna, we'd love to celebrate your birthday."

_Is he rumbling nervously or am I reading too much into it?_ Kyoutani wondered. But he _was_ free. And frankly, there's no place (except maybe home) that he'd rather be in on his birthday. "Sounds cool." He ducked his head in affirmation and Tooru beamed at him.

"Great! I'll see you then. Go to class and listen well!" He mused.

Kentarou rolled his eyes and grunted before turning away and entering the room.

"Good luck!" He heard Oikawa call from behind him, like some overbearing hen mother.

**__________**

Friday rolled around the corner slower than Kyoutani hoped.

His roommate tried to talk to him "about what happened", but Kyoutani quickly shut him down, saying he doesn't recall anything unusual happening at all. Terushima seemed grateful. At least Ushijima never tried to pull him aside for a similar conversation.

The days dragged on. He was constantly horny, but whenever he tried to jerk off, images of Ushijima and Tendou or Terushima and Yamagushi flashed before his eyes, like intrusive thoughts triggered by touching his dick. He didn't know which couple was worse. He even started getting hard the previous day at the changing room, but luckily managed to quickly stop it with a combination of an especially cold shower and recalling an especially gory zombies movie they watched a couple of weeks ago at the club.

A few minutes before he left the dorm to Oikawa and Iwaizumi's apartment, Terushima pulled a box from beneath his bed and hurled it at him. Kyoutani was grateful for his quick instincts. If they were slower, that box would have hit his head.

"The fuck s'this?" He grunted.

"Your birthday present, asshole." Terushima rolled his eyes at him. "You're welcome."

"You knew it was my birthday? How?"

"Oikawa told Guchi, Guchi told me." The man shrugged.

Kentarou's face formed a thoroughly disgusted expression. "Ew. Call him Guchi one more time and I'm moving out." He threatened, already ripping the cover to open the box. It was a doge onesie. Where in the name of god did he get a fucking doge onesie?

Kentarou held it in one hand, letting the box drop to the floor for the dramatic effect, and looked at Terushima for explanation.

"Much creative, I know." His roommate said, his shoulders shaking, clearly struggling to contain his laughter.

"Very present." Kentarou replied, hoping his face was as blank as he tried to keep it.

"Such birthday boy." Terushima's shoulder shook harder.

"Wow." Kentarou completed the sequence, and they both doubled over, laughing hard enough to bring tears to their eyes.

"So you like it?" Terushima asked with a small smile once they calmed down enough to form coherent words.

Kyoutani made sure to smile when he said, "Dude. That's the best gift ever. Thanks." He didn't know yet, but there was still a better gift waiting for him.

"You're welcome. You better get me something this cool too!"

Kentarou made a mental note to ask Yamaguchi when Terushima's birthday is, because fuck if he knew. "Yeah, yeah, sure." He agreed.

He left after they exchanged goodbyes, and in little more than fifteen minutes he was at their place. He knew the way by heart after walking to and from their apartment at least every other day for over two weeks.

Iwaizumi welcomed him in, dressed in sweatpants and a faded shirt that hung from his chest and shoulders nicely.

"He's here already? But Iwaaa! I told you to change to something nicer!" Tooru's voice came from somewhere inside the apartment.

Kyoutani could not imagine anything nicer to wear. He looked comfortable and relaxed and homey, and that was probably the best look for him. "Oikawa, I'm offended you'd think I give a shit." He called.

Iwaizumi chuckled heartily and slapped his back. "Told you!" He said triumphantly to his boyfriend, who just rounded a corner to join them.

He was fresh showered and half naked, because why the hell not? Why make little Kentarou's life easier when you can make them harder? Was this some sort of payback for when Oikawa saw him right after the shower? Except both times were punishment for Kyoutani. Oikawa didn't act like anything was out of the ordinary as he patted his hair carefully with a towel. "I care." He insisted, giving Iwaizumi a pointed look.

"Well here's the thing, it's not your birthday." Hajime sassed. "And except, you're not wearing any shirt at all. I'd say if someone is dressed unaccordingly here, it's your crusty nipples."

"What the hell, Iwa-chan! My nipples are not crusty!" He protested.

Kyoutani was having a really hard time not looking at his nipples now.

"You should know that best of all." The tall bastard added, his voice half sultry and half joking.

Another semi-regular occurrence was the couple's increasing pda, along with dirty remarks like this one. It did nothing to make his life easier, except maybe give him more mental images to jerk off to. But really, he didn't consider that one a plus.

"Just go put a shirt on, Stupidkawa." Hajime shook his head at him.

"Whatever." Oikawa huffed and turned to go. His back was no less beautiful than the rest of him, toned and wider than he expected.

Kentarou quickly averted his eyes. "So where's Boots? She usually comes running when there's noise." He furrowed his eyebrows at Hajime.

"Oh, she's sleeping in our room. We took her on a long walk earlier and she got super tired and fell asleep while drinking water. It was so cute." Iwaizumi's lips curled in a small, fond smile, and Kyoutani's heart definitely did not skip a beat there.

Oikawa came back and they all settled down to watch the first movie: Spirited Away. One of Kentarou's favorites. He definitely didn't shed a few tears along the way, just like Oikawa definitely didn't bowl his eyes out. They took a long break to eat his anticipated birthday cake and chat some while the two presented him their gifts. Iwaizumi got him brand new, high quality knee pads. Oikawa got him high quality, expensive eyeliner and mascaras. In five different colors. He thanked them both over and over, until they told him to stop or they'd take the gifts back. That shut him up real quick.

After that, they put on some movie Tsukishima recommended him the other day. He said it was powerful and captivating. Halfway in, Kentarou was starting to think they had the wrong movie. It was a weird indie movie, with psychedelic soundtracks and a comically bad actor for the main character. More than anything, it was really, really boring.

At some point, Tooru got so bored he started poking and bugging his boyfriend. Kentarou tried to ignore them and watch the movie. It was near impossible. Their little show being more interesting than the movie really says something, he thought.

When Tooru started nipping the side of Hajime's neck, Kentarou pointedly looked away, crossing his arms on his chest and sinking further into the couch. When they started kissing, the noises they made barely audible above the movie playing, he glanced at them, surprised. They kissed around him lots of times, sure. Pecks. At most a few short nips at each other's lips. Now, though, they were full on making out, right next to him.

_What the actual fuck._ He cleared his throat. It didn't help. He did it again, louder this time. Either they didn't notice, which was unlikely, or they ignored him. Trying not to think about the way his face was heating up, he shrinked in the corner of the couch. _Please don't get hard. Please don't get hard. Please don't get hard._

Hajime let out a growl, and in a moment Tooru was sitting in his lap, fingers tugging at the short black hair.

speechless, Kentarou alternated between nervously glancing at them and even more nervously glancing away. When it didn't seem like they were going to stop any time soon, he cleared his throat for the third time. "Come on guys, stop that." His voice was pathetically small.

He watched as they parted, Oikawa straightening up in his lap. He didn't notice before, in the dark, when he only glanced at them for half a second at a time, but Tooru's hand was inside his boyfriend's pants (possibly boxers too), kneeding Hajime's cock slowly. The shorter was bucking his hips into it, barely noticeable but undoubtedly there. How long has that been going on?

_What... the fuck..._ Eyes wide, he looked up at Oikawa. The taller smiled at him. Fucking grinned, like some creature not of this world. His face slightly flashed, he seemed almost drunk or high as he talked in the lowest voice Kyoutani ever heard from him. "You can watch, Kyou-chan, we don't mind." Iwaizumi didn't even glance at him as he grabbed his boyfriend's nape and dragged him down to reunite their lips. A switch he didn't know existed flipped.

Faced with an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous situation, humans opt to one of three behaviors. Fight, flight, or freeze. Kyoutani could have told them to stop and ask what the fuck are they doing. He could have gotten up and walked out of the door. But instead his brain short circuited and he froze, unable to look away from the scene unfolding in front of him. The possibility of this being a dream occurred to him, but he quickly ruled it out. If it was a dream, he'd be participating, and his guts wouldn't be twisting so uncomfortably.

He watched as their kisses became passionate and sloppy. He watched as they rubbed against each other, grinding, moving in unison perfected by long years of practice. He watched as Hajime returned the favor and slipped his hand into the other's pants as well. He listened as they groaned, moaned, whispered each other's name in lust filled voices.

It felt like they fell through some worm hole, right into a different reality where this scene made sense. The room was too loud and too quiet at the same time. The air was heavy with tension, slowly filling up with faint sex scents. He couldn't look away. Couldn't move. Could barely breath. But not in a dream-like way. He couldn't because it might shatter whatever was happening. If he made a sharp motion or let out a loud sound, one of them will surely notice he's still in the room. Blame him for being a pervert. Drive him out of their apartment and never let him back in.

Mortified and the most turned on he was for months (which was saying a lot), he watched them make out, suck on each other's necks, push their pants down a little and stroke each other. They were beautiful. More than that. Breathtaking. Like two sex gods, who even when they were just giving each other hand jobs, looked hotter than every porn he's ever seen.

Oikawa finished first with a moan that turned into a whine, trembling, unraveling under his boyfriend's touch. Iwaizumi wasn't long after him, quieter, with a gruffly mumbled curse. They panted against each other, giggling like children, until Hajime seemed to remember Kyoutani was there and turned his head to look directly into his eyes.

The magic broke. An electric shock snapped Kyoutani from the trans he sunk into. His adrenaline level spiked, making his heart jump to his throat, his stomach to churn and the tips of his fingers and toes to lose sensation. _Danger! Danger!_ His primal mind screamed at him. "I have to go." He blurted, bolting for the door as fast as he could, swinging it open and slamming it behind him accidentally before either of the others even moved.

"Fuck, Oikawa, we said- Kyoutani wait!" He heard Hajime call from inside.

Shoving his hands deep into his pockets and hunching his shoulders, Kyoutani walked along the corridor leading to the stairs as fast as he could without running. A heavy weight was settling in his stomach, becoming heavier with every step he took. _Fuck, what the fuck was that? What the fuck did Oikawa mean when he said he could watch? And Iwaizumi just went with it, like it was fucking normal or okay or something, to fool around right next to innocent people._ Maybe not _that_ innocent, considering the massive, extremely uncomfortable hard on in his boxers. He had no idea what to think. His mind was mostly blank, but the only possible explanation he was able to come up with was that they were making fun of him, somehow.

The door opened again before he climbed down a full flight of stairs. "Fuck, Kyou, just wait! Please! I can explain!" Iwaizumi's voice called desperately.

Explain what exactly? _Fuck that._ He kept climbing down, two stairs at a time. Behind him, the older man practically flew down the stairs by the sound of it. Hajime caught up with him when he had just two flights of stairs left, grabbing his wrist and yanking him back.

Kentarou's hard on was still there and very apparent. If the other noticed, he didn't say anything. "What?" he growled, yanking his wrist away. His mind still reeling, he wasn't capable of any other response other than hostility.

"Just... Fuck, I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to go like this-"

" _What_ wasn't supposed to go like _what_?" He demanded.

"Just give me a moment to explain, alright?"

Kentarou just glared at him.

Iwaizumi took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. Kyoutani noticed he had some cum on his shirt and even one drop on his neck. _He went out of the house like that just to catch up with me?_

"Okay. Basically, Tooru and I... Sometimes invite people to fool around with us. Sometimes as a one time thing, sometimes more like friends with benefits." He confessed. "We've been together for a long, long time, and it spices things up. It's nice. We tried... Testing the waters, see if you might be interested, but fuck, you nearly never flirt back. It's like you don't even know how to flirt." A short, bark-like chuckle escaped him.

Kentarou glared harder.

Hajime cleared his throat and shifted nervously. "Right. Anyway, we were going to talk to you. Not today, maybe in a few weeks... I had no idea Shittykawa was planning something like that, fuck. He did it once before, and it didn't end well. He shouldn't have started it, I shouldn't have gone with it, and I apologize for the both of us. Just, fuck, he knows how I get when I'm horny and he was massaging my thigh all night and- Yeah, you don't want to hear about that." Kyoutani sort of did want to hear about it, actually. "Um. So do you understand?"

His head was spinning with all this new information. Suddenly, a lot of things made sense. Their touchiness the last few weeks. The pda around him, the light flirtations. They were preparing him. Like sheep for slaughter. Well, probably more like... A man... For sex. Metaphors weren't Kentarou's strongest suit. He figured they were just getting more comfortable around him, but apparently they were intentionally teasing and flirting. _What if they thought about it after Oikawa caught me right after the shower?_ He suddenly thought. It was possible, that was around the time they started laying it heavier with all the flirting. Even if it wasn't it, still, the fact both of them found him attractive was... An incredible confidence boost.

Iwaizumi was staring at him expectantly, so slowly he said, "Basically, you two are huge fucking perverts and you decided to invite me to a threesome by giving me a first row ticket to a private porn show. By surprise."

" _Tooru_. Tooru decided." He corrected him. "But uh, sort of, yeah."

"Who else was a part of your little... thing? Anyone I know?" Kentarou asked curiously.

"That's... Not really for me to answer. Might be rude for the others, y'know." Hajime shrugged.

"Oh. Yeah. You're right. Sorry."

"So, um, you want to come back up?" Iwaizumi suggested.

"Oh, you meant... Right now....?"

"Oh, uh, no, no." He chuckled. "I meant in general. Whenever. You just forgot your gifts." His casual tone made it sound like they were talking about a trip to the beach, not discussing a future possibility of a threesome.

"Right. Uh, I can get them another day, it's fine. I think I should head back anyway... And process."

"So is that... A yes?"

"Do you even have to ask? You two are practically greek gods, fuck yeah that's a yes." _Shit, too enthusiastic? Eh, fuck, who cares, they just jerked each other off in front of me._ This fact was slowly sinking in, becoming a part of reality rather than something that belongs in fantasies or dreams. He wasn't sure he believed it acutally happened now, or will believe it tomorrow morning, but Oikawa and Iwaizumi will undoubtedly remind him in due time. Just the thought of it sent chills down his spine.

"Cool, okay, yeah. Um, it doesn't have to make anything weird, as long as we're all comfortable with whatever's happening. It won't be weird unless someone makes it weird, is what I'm trying to say."

Kentarou nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good."

"You should go back and clean yourself up." The blond pointed at the drying streak of white substance on Iwaizumi's shirt.

The other looked down and startled visibly. "Shit, I didn't even think of that." He chuckled, and Kyoutani joined him. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then, yeah?" Hajime suggested once they stopped laughing.

"Yeah, sure. Good night."

"Good night."

And they went their separate ways, Kentarou climbing downwards and Hajime upwards.

He felt giddy all the way back to university. Not only the weight from before was lifted, but more than half his body mass with it. It felt like he was floating. The grin didn't leave his face all the way back, even when he tried to bite it down. His boner calmed down but not entirely, and his cock twitched every time he recalled the way Oikawa grinned at him or the sound Iwaizumi made when he came. It was unbelievable. An hour ago, he was sure he'd never, ever have a shot with any of them. He fully accepted it, too. And now there was a very real possibility he'd get to be with not only one, but the both of them.

Once he was back at the dorm (Terushima was already asleep), he locked himself in the bathroom for over an hour, jerking off time after time, until he was sated. When his dick wasn't enough, he used some lotion as lube to help slip fingers up his ass, too. With the images and voices of Oikawa and Iwaizumi fresh in his memory, it didn't take him for him to finish every time he got hard again. At the end, he was oversensitive and sore, but that night was the first that week he didn't have a dirty dream and didn't wake up with a boner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all welcome aaahhh  
> The third season hit me like a train and I fell in love with Tendou so hard I just had to have him in my fic  
> In case anyone cares, doge and pepe are the only two memes Kyou knows, and both are thanks to Terushima. Doge is his fav tho (thanks for the idea draggy, I totally took that from that one doge shirt you drew on him lol)
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated!  
> Share this on tumblr [here](http://etstruball.tumblr.com/post/151901214880/hardest-of-hearts-etstrubal-haikyuu-archive)


	5. The kink talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fucking & Some talking & Some texting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed I added a total number of chapters! I might change it, but right now I think I have about four chapters left not including this one! It's nice to have an estimation heh  
> 

Not even 48 hours after Kentarou's birthday at Tooru and Hajime's, he had his first threesome.

It was Sunday morning. Iwaizumi and Kyoutani just finished a morning walk with Boots (Oikawa was supposed to join them, but he got lazy and stayed in bed, apparently) when the older invited him up for "coffee".

"You know I don't really drink coffee." Kentarou's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I didn't actually mean coffee, Kyou." Hajime clarified, raising a single suggestive eyebrow at him.

"Oh." The soft sound escaped him involuntarily. Of course he thought about their offer. A lot. There might have been five minutes the previous day when he wasn't thinking about it, but the rest of the time? Definitely. And while things weren't awkward at the morning walk, there was definitely tension building under the surface. He felt stupid for not figuring out the hidden meaning earlier.

"You don't have to," Hajime added when Kentarou didn't say anything else. "There's no rush."

"No- uh- I'd really, really like to... _come up for coffee._ "

Iwaizumi's smile widened. "Great. Lets hope Trashikawa is already up."

He was. They found him on the couch, knees drawn up to his chest, wearing only boxers, sipping coffee and staring off into space. He was a perfect image of a relaxed Sunday morning. As soon as he realized Kyoutani was there, though, he perked up, glancing between Hajime and him as if asking, _is this it?_

"Kyou came up to have a cup of coffee," Iwaizumi explained, an amused little smile adorning his lips.

"But he doesn't drink coffee." Tooru's confused expression had a remarkable resemblance to Kentarou's earlier one.

"Exactly." Hajime said. Kentarou snorted.

"Oho, I see." The tallest of the three placed his mug on the small table, slowly rising to his feet with a smirk.

_That smug smirk should be illegal,_ Kyoutani thought. It's unfairly hot when it should be annoying.

They were slow and gentle with him, and clearly knew very well how to handle a third partner. Both Hajime and Tooru were very considerate, constantly making sure he's feeling good and that he's comfortable with everything. As if he could feel bad when they were his partners. All the attention and care were overwhelming at first, but by the time he was balls deep in Oikawa's ass and sucking on Iwaizumi's cock, he was too into it to care. Hours later, when he was in his room, he wondered how many people were in this position before him with a pang of envy. But at the time, he was a little more focused on the hands caressing him and tongues licking him.

"How can you two do... this?" He asked, mumbling the words against Tooru's chest. After wiping themselves down, they all huddled on the bed together with the tallest in the middle. It didn't come as a surprise to him that the man liked to cuddle, and of course being sandwiched between two people was his favorite position. It was, after all, the ultimate form of cuddling, and Tooru was nothing less than a professional. Normally, all the physical contact would be difficult for Kentarou, but in his post-orgasm state it didn't bother him.

"What do you mean?" Came Iwaizumi's voice from the other side of the bed.

"How are you... Okay with it? With someone touching your boyfriend?"

"But we both touch you and you touch the both of us." Tooru said, frowning slightly, like he doesn't exactly understand what's supposed to be wrong with it.

"Well yes, but..." He threw his arm in the air helplessly before letting it drop back onto the firm chest. He had no idea how to explain his thought process, and he was always bad with words to begin with. "It's like... Wouldn't it normally make someone jealous to see someone else making their loved one feel good?"

"Why would it make us feel bad if the other feels good? Especially if we're also feeling good? Everyone's feeling good. I don't see what might be bad about that." Oikawa insisted. His frown deepened, not disapproving, only concentrating and trying to understand what the younger is trying to say.

"I think what's Tooru trying to say," Iwaizumi started, "Is that we've both accepted a long time ago that yes, we are together, but we are also humans and we experience attraction to other people as well. We agreed that only doing it with each other might not be the healthiest option for our relationship, so although it's unconventional, it works for us. We're always together, even with other people, so it's not like someone is being left out. No reason to be jealous."

Kyoutani contemplated this for some time while Tooru showered his boyfriend with compliments about how cool that explanation was and how smart he was. Hajime swatted at him, of course, telling him he should have explained everything this way from the beginning.

"I see." He finally said. "I can understand that." And he did, although just barely.

"Good. It also helps we have some rules." Hajime added.

"Rules?" Kentarou didn't hear anything about rules before.

"Oh, yeah, we usually have this conversation before jumping to bed, but I guess we kind of... missed our chance. Tooru, you want to do the honors?"

"Sure. So the first thing, you may have noticed, is no kissing."

Thinking back, Kyoutani didn't recall kissing any of them, though he didn't notice at the time. He nodded slowly.

"No spending the night,"

He shrugged. He was never planning to sleep over at their apartment, not when his dorms were so close. It wouldn't be a problem.

"This one should be obvious, but past experience taught us it wasn't, so just to make sure: This arrangement doesn't mean in any way you can do it with one of us. It's the three of us. Only all of us."

"Obviously. Did someone try to...?" He left the end of the question unspoken, thinking his meaning is clear enough.

"Yes, and it got very, very awkward." Iwaizumi injected, grimacing at the memory.

_So it was Hajime?_ For some reason, he thought that if someone will come on to one of them, it'd be Tooru. Maybe because he was flirtier. He felt a wave of anger and disdain towards the person who so moronically tried to eat the entire cake when he was given a generous slice in the first place. _Wait, wouldn't it be eating less of the cake? Since he meant to do it with only one instead of the two?_ Kentarou really was bad at metaphors.

"I'm glad that's clear!" Tooru took back the conversation reins. "That's pretty much it, but if we're already on the subject... I think it'd be very beneficial to have _the talk._ "

"The talk?"

" _The talk,_ Kyouken-chan! What you like, what you won't do, anything else we might need to know. And we'll tell you our likes etcetera too of course."

"Oh, uh..." Kentarou trailed off into silence, unsure what's expected of him.

"I'll start." Maybe Oikawa sensed his hesitation, because he volunteered to talk first. Kentarou was grateful for it. "I like pretty much everything. Blowjobs both ways, fucking both ways, rimming both ways, toys- err, is that too much information?"

_How is he able to say those things out loud so easily?_ Even if they just had sex and they're all mostly naked... It still seemed odd to him.

"Maybe save it for the kink talk, babe." Hajime patted his boyfriend's shoulder.

_There's going to be a kink talk?_ Kentarou thought incredulously. Wasn't this talk enough? How was

"Right. So who wants to go next? Kyou?"

"Sure. Um. I do like getting fucked. A lot. But I can't most of the time, not when I have volleyball practices and games."

"Understandable, Iwa-chan has the same issue." Oikawa nodded sensibly, unfazed by the information or the way he phrased it.

"So you like it up the ass too?" Kyoutani turned to Hajime.

"Yeah man. Feels good." Hajime shrugged casually.

_Fuck yes._ Just the thought of fucking him was making blood rush south again. "Also, uh, about rimming. I don't have a lot of experience... or any at all. But I'm open to it."

"Nice." Hajime mumbled quietly. Kyoutani pretended not to hear it, but it still made his stomach twist pleasantly.

Talking about sex so openly was still strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. He'd never talked to anyone about these things before. It felt like the adult way of doing things, and definitely better than having unexpected surprises later on. The casual tones they used and the fact no one even tried to tease or mock him helped normalize it and make him feel a lot more comfortable sharing his preferences.

"Anything you won't do?" Tooru asked quickly, keeping the conversation in the right track.

"Uh..." Kentarou was thinking so hard about it that he lost track of time, and only realized how long he's been silent when Oikawa started giggling.

"Shut up. I guess most things just don't really bother me."

"Oh yeah? Spanking?" Hajime inquired.

"Sure. It's fun. I have to warn you though, my hand is pretty powerful."

Tooru snickered. "You forget who my boyfriend is."

"You assume you'll do the spanking, too." Said boyfriend added.

"Shit, forget I ever said anything." He wasn't sure if he liked them ganging up on him like that or not yet, but the thought of Hajime spanking him was in no way negative.

"Too late. What about vibrators?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Tried it once. It was pretty cool."

"Snowballing?" Oikawa dared him.

Kyoutani has never heard of it before. "What's that?"

"Really? You don't know? It's basically... You give someone a blowjob and when they cum in your mouth you keep it and then pass it on to them and they pass it on to a third person and just-"

"Oh, I get the name. It grows. Like a snowball. Sounds pointlessly gross. But a cum kiss could be cool. I never found a partner who'd do that, though."

Tooru and Hajime shared a look. "Next time." Oikawa promised him with a small smile. "What about panties? Stockings? High heels?"

"Sure, but walking on heels might be hard. I've never tried to before."

"Oh, it's not that difficult, I can teach you some time!" Oikawa offered. Kentarou shrugged noncommittally.

The next one was from Iwaizumi. "What about cuffs? Blindfolds? Cock rings?"

"You guys are kinky fucks, aren't you?"

"Yes." Iwaizumi admitted easily, shamelessly.

Kyoutani could definitely appreciate that kind of honesty. "I'd like to try all of those one day. Probably all sex toys except the one... What's it called? The thing that goes into your dick? Never that one."

"I think it's called a penis plug or something." Tooru mused. "I'm not sure, we don't have one of those... Yet?" The question was clearly directed at his boyfriend.

"No 'yet'. I agree with Kyou, those things are nasty."

Tooru didn't seem too disappointed when he said, "Ah well. Not like I was too eager to try one myself."

"Well, there goes the kink talk. Nice to have that out of the way so early." Hajime said. Kyoutani had to agree. It would definitely be nice to get to try the less conventional things sooner.

Oikawa hummed. Kentarou could feel his chest vibrating. It was a funny sensation, but not a bad on. "Nice to know Kyouken-chan is as kinky as I anticipated~" the tallest said.

"You didn't anticipate shit, Trashykawa."

"Rude! I totally did, even if I didn't say it out loud."

The two kept squabbling while Kyoutani wondered if they really talked about him when he wasn't around, and what else they might have said.

In the following weeks, a new, highly welcomed element was added to his life. Sex with Hajime and Tooru became a semi regular, blessed occurrence. He studied their bodies with a hunger he didn't know gnawed at him until it was let loose. As promised, they had their cum kiss. And while it wasn't as incredible as he thought it would be, the act was still pretty hot. He also learned what a tongue up his ass feels like, and what it tastes like to have his own up their asses, too.

More than once, he thought it was weird they were willing to have their tongues in his ass but not his mouth, but he wasn't doubting them. He respected the very clear boundaries they set. Almost religiously so. They haven't done any of the things discussed in the "kink talk" yet, but there was no pressure. They were still exploring, figuring out how to work together smoothly. Their natural chemistry gave them a head start down that path, but experience was still needed. And there was only one very pleasant way to gain more experience.

It was almost scary how easily he accepted this new reality. It was still surreal, especially the fact both of them found him attractive, but again, he wasn't going to doubt it. He resolved to enjoy it as long as it lasts while trying not to think about when it might end.

__________

"I'm so bored." Terushima breathed out for the millionth time that evening.

"Then go to a fucking party or something." Kyoutani grumbled at him. He was trying to focus on some project, and his roommate kept complaining and distracting him. They were a week into their nine days long winter break, and about the only two people left in the dorms. Kyoutani couldn't afford to go home for only a little over a week, and Terushima's family all went skiing in some place rich people ski in and left him behind. His roommate didn't want to go home and be all alone, so he chose to stay as well. It might have been nice to have company if he wasn't so annoying about it. Oikawa and Iwaizumi went to their hometown together, so Kyoutani tried to spend as much time as he could doing the work he skipped on in favor of hanging out with the two.

"I don't feel like it. I wanna hang out with Tadashi, but he's not here!" He dragged the last word out annoyingly, and Kentarou could tell he was pouting in self pity even when he wasn't looking. Yamaguchi and Terushima's relationship was going great, as far as he knew. There were no more pink dildo incidents, fortunately.

He ground his teeth, trying to maintain his self control and not throw the pen at Terushima like a spear. "Yes. I know. He has not been around since winter break started. You've been lonely and bored and annoying. I'm very, very aware."

"Ken-ta-rou! You're being rude! I need emotional support. Or a distraction."

"The fuck you want me to do? Dance like a monkey for you?"

"As amusing as that would be... It'd probably give me ptsd, so no. You wanna get drunk? I've never seen you drunk before. I bet you're a crier. Are you?"

"No." He scoffed. "I'm just a normal fucking drunk."

"Hmmm. I guess we'll see. So are you in?"

"Only if you're paying for the alcohol."

"Ugh, fine. You cheap asshole."

"I'm a poor asshole, there's a difference." Kentarou waved his pen at him.

"Whatever you say, cheapskate." His roommate teased, already standing up and putting on some warm clothes. "I'm gonna go out to get alcohol because I'm a good, generous person. Do you need anything else?"

"Snacks. More notebooks. A car."

"The hell do you need a car for? You don't even have a license."

"I can sell it, so maybe next time I'll have money for alcohol." Kentarou sassed.

"What kind of logic is that? I'll still be paying for it."

Kentarou shrugged. "That's your problem, not mine."

"And that's before the alcohol." Terushima shook his head slowly. Now properly dressed to go out, he moved to the door. "Snacks are a good idea, though. I get horrible munchies. See you in a few."

Kyoutani waved him off with a grunt.

Half an hour and two solved exercises later, Terushima was back with a six pack of beer and a bottle of cheap Tequila. Two hours, zero solved exercises, two beers, countless shots and a small pile of snacks after that, both young men were thoroughly trashed.

Terushima was sitting on the floor, slouched against his bed when he suddenly said, "Dude... Think about it... Your hair? It grows out of you. Like a tree. And your head is like the earth, y'know?"

"So that's why they call your roots roots. Because it's like the roots of a tree." Kyoutani mused. "Man, you're smarter than you look."

"Thanks man. I appreciate it." There was not a drop of sarcasm in his tone. His roommate was genuinely grateful for the compliment. "Speaking of roots... Man, you have more black than blond in your hair. You need bleaching like. Yesterday."

Kentarou groaned loudly. "I know... I've been putting it off for weeks. I can't do it well enough alone and going to a professional costs too much. Maybe I should just go back to having completely black hair..." His tone started out normal, but turned more mumbly with every word.

Terushima perked up. "Dude, no! That's like, your thing. Bee head. And besides! I totally have the stuff we need. We can bleach it like. Right now."

"Really?" Some distant voice in his brain told him it might not be the best idea, but it was quickly drowned by the alcohol. "Yeah man. That would be really cool."

"Awesome!" Carefully, one hand on the bed for support, his roommate stood up and wobbled over to his closet. Kyoutani watched as he fiddled around the top shelf for a minute or two before retreating with a small paper bag and a triumphant "Aha!".

Five minutes later Kentarou was sitting on his now upside down laundry basket in the middle of their dorm room. His roommate stood behind him, a bowl with the bleaching products inside in one hand and a wide brush in the other. He was carelessly applying the creamy substance to his hair, humming all the while. It felt like he was using too much, but Kentarou couldn't bring himself to care. Terushima looked totally professional earlier when he mixed a few small bottles with and two different powders together, and whatever doubts he had dissipated.

When they were about halfway done, Kyoutani's ass started vibrating. It tickled, so he laughed. It was probbaly his phone, but he didn't feel like looking at it.

His roommate stopped touching his hair. "Wow. I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. Like, snort maybe. You should laugh more, dude."

"Shuddup. I laugh enough." Kentarou mumbled back at him. The other huffed and resumed his work. The phone in his back pocket vibrated again. Then again. It was annoying, so the blond twisted back to get it.

His heart definitely did not skip a beat when he saw who the texts were from. Oikawa Tooru. Other than a few selfies the man sent him, he nearly didn't talk with him or with Hajime for the week since they left. He wasn't bitter. It was understandable, they were back at their home town with a lot to catch up on. But he _was_ getting a little lonely. He had no idea how much he relied on their company until they were gone. The letters on the too bright screen swam in front of his eyes for a few moments before his vision focused and he read:

[22:23] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Kyouken-chaaaaaaaannn!! Boots hasn't pooped in two days and we totally forgot what we're supposed to do! :(**  
**Does that make us bad parents?**  
**Kyou-chaaann!!! It's not that late! You can't be sleeping yet!!**

Kentarou snorted, smiling softly to himself. Only Tooru would pester him instead of fucking googling it like a normal person.

"What're you laughing at?" His roommate asked curiously.

"M'not laughing." He mumbled back as he constructed a response and sent it to Hajime.

[22:24] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Tell ur histric bf to giv ur dog sum raw meat n if it dnt work then giv her the spcel stff u shud hav som left frm last tm**  
**also rub te bely**

Perfect. He almost forgot the belly rubbing part, which was important and could help prevent the need to use the special powder. Boots already dealt with similar issues in the past, so Tooru really shouldn't have been this worried.

"You _were_ laughing." Terushima insisted, but didn't press further.

He got two texts almost at the same time.

[22:26] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Thanks. I told him he shouldn't freak out but he did anyway.**

[22:26] Oikawa Tooru:  
**How!!! Rude!!! I text you and you text Hajime back?!?! That's so cold, Kyouken-chan... So evil... I'm over here.... Crying.... All alone... Because you're mean to me.**

Kentarou stared at the message from Oikawa, cackling like a hyena. What the fuck was that even supposed to mean? Who cares about those things anyway? Tooru, apparently.

"Okay dude, now you're _definitely_ laughing."

"I guess." Kentarou shrugged, then started chuckling again.

"What's that all about? Seriously, who are you texting?"

Kyoutani laughed harder, struggling to keep still so Terushima wouldn't bleach something he isn't supposed to, like his ear or his shirt. "That's exactly the joke," He said dumbly. It didn't even occur to him that his roommate won't have a flaming clue what the fuck he's talking about.

"What?" Expectedly, the man did not have a flaming clue what he's talking about.

"I'll explain... Just a second..." Kyoutani mumbled, his thumbs flying across his screen. He had trouble multitasking even normally, and typing took a lot of concentration in his drunken state.

[22:30] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**Tell ur bf he a drma quin and i dnt ansr 2 hm bc hes anong n tell me tmrw if boots shits ok? im worid**

Looking at the text he just sent to Iwaizumi, some of the words seemed a little off, but since he already sent it there was no point thinking too much about it.

"So?" Terushima demanded once he was done.

Confused, Kyoutani tilted his head to to look at him, his forehead almost touching the brush. "So what?"

_"Who are you texting?"_ Terushima repeated, exasperated.

" _Oh._ Yeah I forgot. Sorry. I was texting Iwaizumi, but both Iwaizumi and Oikawa were texting me, but I was only answering Iwaizumi and Oikawa totally got mad because he texted me first," He had to hold his laughter in for most of the time he spoke, and finally let it out again when he was done.

"That's... Not really that funny, dude, but whatever. Maybe it's funnier because you guys are close nowdays. At least now I know you're a happy drunk."

"Nah, I'm just happy because I'm fucking both of them and now they're texting me." Kyoutani said casually.

There were ten solid seconds of silence before Terushima slowly walked in front of him, looking straight into his eyes and very slowly asking, "Did you just say you're fucking them?"

"Oh, yeah, shit, I guess I didn't really have a chance to tell you yet." He wasn't exactly hiding it, but it was a new thing and saying "hey man, I'm sleeping with both of my crushes at the same time now" just felt weird. Plus, he didn't know if the two of them would be cool with him telling people. But now it's out, so he'll just have to tell them later and hope they'll be okay with it.

"Dude. That is like... All sorts of wrong. I mean, it is pretty impressive, to get two people so attractive to cheat on each other with you but-"

"What?! What the fuck, Teru?! They're not fucking cheating on each other. I meant we all do it. As in together. At the same time."

His roommate emitted a soft "Oh" of realization.

Kentarou smirked, leaning back and almost falling because the laundry basket he was sitting on did not have a back rest."I guess someone like you can't even grasp the idea of a threesome. Don't worry about it, getting laid with one person is totally enough." He teased.

"Excuse me, getting the prettiest man on campus into bed is even more impressive than your..." Terushima made random looking hand gestures at him. "Your arrangement with them."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree. Have you fucking seen Hajime's biceps? His _thighs_? Have you ever seen Tooru's face? He looks like a model. And his legs... They're endless, dude. Endless. And so smooth..." His tone turned more dreamy with every word. "Their voices... How they're so in synch..."

"Dude. You are so far gone it's not even funny anymore." There was something in his roommate's face. It wasn't amusement, nor happiness for him. It was something between sympathy and pity.

Kentarou scoffed. He didn't like that expression at all. It was too serious, and threatened threatened to pull him back to soberness. "I'm not gone. This is the best thing that happened to me since I started Uni. I'm getting laid with hot people who are also my friends. It's perfect."

"Yeah, and they're a couple, and you're not a part of it. It just doesn't sound like the best idea. What happens if it's not enough? If they want to stop it?"

"Fuck off, what are you, my mom? It's just sex, Teru. I'm not falling in love with them for fuck's sake. What a fucking buzzkill, dude."

Terushima visibly flinched back. He didn't seem convinced, but he backed off anyway. "Whatever you say, man. It's your life." He mumbled, walking back to his position behind Kyoutani to continue applying the bleaching mix to his hair.

Kentaou sighed. "I appreciate the concern, but really, it's not like that."

"Yeah man, I got that. It's cool, no worries."

"Alright, good. Are you done back there?"

"Almost. Just a couple more minutes." Terushima went back to his humming, a true sign everything was okay.

His phone buzzed in his pocket again a few minutes after his roommate finished working on his hair. He'd have to wait half an hour until he could wash his hair, and texting was a good pastime as any.

**You have been added to a new group chat - The Three Dicksketeers**

Confused, he entered the new group, which included only Oikawa, Iwaizumi and himself. A new message popped up while he was still wondering what the fuck was going on.

[22:42] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Disclaimer: this is Tooru's idea, I had nothing to do with it.**

[22:42] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Traitor! You were totally up for it.  
** **Anyway, Kyouken-chan, since you're being rude and not answering my texts, I thought it'd be a good idea to make this group and then you could talk to the both of us at the same time! It's almost like you'll actually reply to me now.**  
**Isn't that the best idea ever? I'm such a genius.**

[22:43] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Shut up, shittykawa. It's a pretty basic idea, don't flatter yourself pointlessly**

[22:43] Oikawa Tooru:  
**He says that now, Kyou, but he looked SO impressed just two minutes ago. Don't believe a word he said!  
** **He was the one who suggested the name, too.**  
**Well, actually, he suggested "the three musketeers" BUT THEN I was like !!!!! dickstekeers!!! Get it? Because we all have "swords" that we play with. But they're actually dicks.**

[22:43] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**See what I have to deal with every day?**

[22:43] Oikawa Tooru:  
**I bet Kyou will appreciate my genius :(**

Kyoutani stared at his phone, his small, fond smile growing wider. Seeing them bicker warmed his heart. It was familiar and comforting. God, he didn't even realize how much he missed them the days before.

[22:44] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**dnt fite, thrs enugh kyo for evrone ;)**

It took three whole minutes for a response to come in, even though they were both shooting texts just moments before.

[22:47] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Who is this? Please give your phone back to Kentarou**

[22:47] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**wat? no haji its me**

It felt good to call him Haji. Kyoutani's secretly wanted to call him that for weeks now, ever since Oikawa called him by the nickname one day. It sounded so intimate and nice. He rolled it off his tongue out loud as well, just to try it. "Haji.". It had a nice ring to it.

Terushima whipped his head up to look at him. "Huh?"

"Oh, uh, nothing." he waved the other off.

While he was looking away, Oikawa and Iwaizumi sent a bunch of other messages.

[22:48] Oikawa Tooru:  
**WHAT  
** **IS THIS REAL LIFE**  
**DID KYOUKEN CHAN REALLY JUST FLIRT WITH US WHAT IS HAPPENING**

[22:48] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Kyoutani? Are you feeling alright? Do you have fever or something?**

[22:48] Oikawa Tooru:  
**What if he got addicted to drugs while we weren't there to guide him through life????**

**We really are bad parents :(**

[22:48] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Tooru.... Please........ Never call Kyou our son ever again. EVER**

[22:49] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Hypocrite. You were totally fine with it when he called you daddy in bed the other day!**

[22:50] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**That's completely different and you know it Trashykawa.**

[22:50] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**u prmisd nt 2 tlk abut it agan!!! f u tashykawa  
also im jst drnk, no drgs prms**

He chuckled, picturing Tooru's face when he sees that he called him Trashykawa like Iwaizumi did.

[22:51] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Holy shit! You're a flirty drunk! I fucking called it.  
Also Iwa-chan I'm going to kill you later. Kyou picked up on your awful nickname and I hate you**

_What is it with people trying to figure out my drunk type anyway?_

[22:51] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**You never called it. Lier.  
And your nicknames are worse. **

[22:51] Oikawa Tooru:  
**M nicknames are great, excuse you. But we totally have to get Kyou drunk again when we get back! It'll be so funny!**

[22:52] Kyoutani Kentarou:  
**if ur pying sre. n i gt hrny so b rdy  
iwa is rite ur ncknams sck**

[22:52] Oikawa Tooru:  
**I'm wounded. You two are so mean. And it's a deal! I'll get whatever you want! We can even do belly shots, Iwa's bellybotton is so deep you wouldn't even believe it.  
Oh wait, yeah, you already know lol oops**

[22:53] Iwaizumi Hajime:  
**Kyou, your messages are getting really, really hard to read. Think you could try being coherent a little harder?**

[22:53] Oikawa Tooru:  
**Don't listen to that traitor! I can read your messages just fine. Iwa just sucks at it.**

[22:54] Kyoutni Kentarou:  
**iwa sucks in genral ;) ;) ;); ) ;)**

Again, Kentarou had to stop and laugh at his own joke. Terushima didn't even glance at him this time.

[22:55] Oikawa Tooru:  
**HOLY SHIT DRUNK KYOU IS BEST KYOU**

The warm glow in his chest slowly spread, settling in his stomach, neck and face as well. They kept talking in the chat for another fifteen minutes or so until he had to go wash his hair. They told him about the places they visited and old friends they had the chance to catch up with. "Matsukawa and Hanamaki" showed up in most of their stories, and Kyoutani recognized them from the couple's stories about their childhood together as well. These two were often involved in some stupid shit they did that got them all in trouble. Apparently, they were now a couple themselves, and according to Oikawa, the only surprise was how long it took them to get together. He dimly thought he'd like to meet them one day.

The shower sobered him up considerably, but also made him aware of how tired he was. He had to shampoo his hair four times before the stream of pink-red colored water was weak enough to his liking. Was the color always pink-red when he bleached his hair? He couldn't remember. He never noticed it before. _Ah, well, it's probably just because of the different brands._ The mirror was all fogged up from the steam, so he couldn't see the result. But it didn't really matter to him; he'd just check it out tomorrow before he'll do the black stripes.

Exhausted, he flopped onto his bed, only sending a short goodnight message in the group chat before letting his eyes close and his mind drift off to blessed sleep.

The next morning, he woke up with a headache that felt more like a migrane, a bladder that's about to explode, and little to no memory of the night before. He rushed to the bathroom with a groan, every step sending jolts of white pain through his skull. Bits and pieces of texting came back to him as he hovered over the toilet, and he groaned louder. To make a bad morning worse, when he looked in the mirror after peeing, his hair was pink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, kudos and comments are very appreciated :D  
> And if you really like this you can even share it on tumblr [here](http://etstruball.tumblr.com/post/152208575510/hardest-of-hearts-etstrubal-haikyuu-archive) or just hmu, that's cool too :D


	6. Two Million Yen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is kinda late >.<  
> And also short compared to the previous chapters........  
> Hopefully the next won't take as long ^^

His hair was pink. Fuck school. Fuck his scholarship. Pink. Fuck Terushima in particular. Not literally though. The fucker might enjoy it, and Kyoutani wanted him to _suffer._

That's why he punched him in the stomach hard, then while Terushima was still gasping for air, pressed a pillow into his face, holding him down against the bed.

Restraining the flailing limbs and Ignoring the muffled screams, Kyoutani said loud and clear, "Why in the name of shit is my hair pink, you fucker?!"

The muffled screaming went on while Kentarou kept yelling the same question at him in different phrasing. At some point, he realized that his roommate can't really answer with a pillow pressing into his face. He kept it there for a while longer, just for good measure, before removing it.

Gasping for air, Terushima sat up in his bed, holding a hand between them. As if that would keep Kyoutani away in case he decides to kill the other after all. "I can explain!"

"Can you now." Kentarou's tone was drier than the Sahara desert.

"Yes!"

"Then do." He growled. His roommate flinched.

Terushima hesitated, then quickly breathed out, "I can't."

Kentarou started at him threateningly, the move all bark and no bite, but his roommate fell for it. He shrunk back on the bed, now holding two hands between them and yelling, "Okay okay okay! I'll tell you!"

"Go. Fucking. On."

"It's just fucking embarrassing okay?"

"My hair is pink, Teru. _pink_. I think you deserve some humiliation, too."

Terushima huffed. "What's wrong with pink hair?"

"If you don't start talking in the next three se-"

"Okay! I said okay. Just... Give me a moment here."

"You have three seconds. Three... Two...-"

"I bleached and colored my pubes pink, I must have mixed the bags by accident, I'm sorry."

_What. The fuck._

"Give me that." His roommate mumbled. Kyoutani's hold on the pillow was slackened by his shock, and Terushima easily snatched it from his hands and buried his face in it willingly. Either he wanted to kill himself, or he had to hide his embarrassment, Kentarou figured.

"Do I even want to know why?"

"Probably not."

"Does it have anything to do with Yamaguchi?"

His roommate groaned loudly. "Maybe."

"Then I sure as fuck don't want to know, Jesus fuck. Man, you are fucking whipped." Kyoutani almost felt bad for him. Nearly. Not really. His hair was still fucking pink and it was Terushima's fault. It was hard to feel sympathetic for him at the moment.

"I know." He wailed into the pillow, pressing into it harder.

"Let's see, then. I'm not going easy on you this time. You pay for re-bleaching _at a professional place_ , takeout for a week and laundry for a month."

Terushima finally ripped the pillow away from his face, scandalized. "A month?! What the hell, fuck no, it's just pink hair."

Kyoutani glared at him.

"Takeout for three days and laundry for two weeks."

Kyoutani glared harder.

"Takeout for five days and laundry for three week?"

Kyoutani bared his teeth at him.

"Come on dude! You agreed to it, and we were both drunk!"

The man had a point. "Fine. It better be quality takeout and not that cheap pizza, though."

"What?! I love that pizza!"

"That's because you're cheap, nasty trash yourself."

Terushima scoffed. "Wow. Rude and uncalled for."

"S'true though."

"I didn't say it wasn't fair." His roommate shrugged. "Just rude."

For Terushima's birthday, Kyoutani decided, he was going to buy him dignity, and wrap it up nicely in some self respect.

___________

The next day, they went to a barber shop and Kentarou's hair never looked better. Two day later, Tooru and Hajime came back, university started again, no one ever found out and everything went back to normal.

Except for the first time since he started university, maybe for the first time in his life, "normal" daily life was pretty fucking awesome. With Tooru's kindest help, his grades were up, his scholarship secured. In fact, they were so high that the administration didn't see any reason to keep paying a student to help him. His tutoring lessons ceased, but he didn't see Oikawa any less. Even more, with all the time he spent at their apartment and at the club. If you count all the daily messages in the group, then the three spent almost every waking moment together.

Kyoutani joining the morning walk with Boots became so regular an event that Iwaizumi stopped texting him to ask if he's coming, instead assuming he would, or if he wouldn't - send him a text saying he can't. Less often but still pretty frequently, Kentarou tagged along to the afternoon walks as well. Those mostly included Oikawa and him, but sometimes it would be all three of them. Those times were his favorite. They'd always take their time, chatting, laughing. Eating in one of the few places in the area that permitted dogs entry. He worried he might be cutting into their alone time at the start, but neither of them ever made him feel unwanted. The opposite, actually. They were always asking for his opinion on whatever they were talking about or questioning him about his studies. He was forced to break the tie on so many of their disputes that he started listening in on their petty bickering when before he'd zone out. There was no point making them go over everything again, right? So he prepared before, and the moment they inevitably turned to him, he shot the answer at them.

His weeks were an endless cycle of walks with boots, Volleyball practices, classes, gym, working on homework and projects and however much sleep he could get. He lived from one weekend to the next. Weekends still contained some studying and usually gym too, of course, but they also meant sex. And yeah, usually they'd all go for a quicky or two in the middle of the week, but weekends were for proper sex. Hours long sessions of taking their time, exploring bodies with hands and tongues, careful and thorough preparation for truly mindblowing sex.

He studied their bodies, what they respond best to with insatiable hunger. Pretty quickly, he found out that Tooru really, really loves being sucked on. Not just his cock. He loved getting hickeys, and even if he complained afterwards, he sure as hell wasn't complaining while Kentarou sucked them into his thighs. Or his collarbone. Or his hip or his left asscheek or- you get the idea. If he would have put half the effort he put into memorizing Tooru's most sensitive spots into his studies, he wouldn't have needed a tutor in the first place.

He learned that Hajime liked a tongue or a dick up his ass well enough, but fingers? He would melt, whimpering, begging for more, his insides twitching like crazy. Watching him fingering himself was a gratifying experience that Kyoutani will never forget. In fact, it was so hard to forget, that in the practice after he first saw it he spaced out and accidentally received a deadly spike from Ushijima with his head. The coach made him go to the infirmary to make sure there's no concussion.

"What? There's no way you'd get a concussion with a skull as thick as yours." Oikawa teased him later, the ass.

With just as much enthusiasm, he figured out his own likes as well. It's not that he never had sex before, he just never had it in so many different forms and positions. He now knew that while Hajime can fuck him into another dimension, Tooru's slower, more rhythmical thrusts actually made him come harder. He still liked being fucked roughly a little better, though. There was something more satisfying about it, even if Tooru had him drooling into a pillow every single time.

When he called them kinky fuckers it mostly as a joke, but as it turned out, they really were. Bit by bit, he was slowly getting acquainted with their vast toy collection. He learned that sensory derivation was too much for him, but maybe it was just a matter of practice because Tooru and Hajime seemed to like their blindfolds plenty. After nearly spraining his ankle, Kentarou refused to walk on heels again. Oikawa still managed to rope him into wearing them for the aesthetic while sitting or laying safely on the bed, though. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the insistence flattering.

Oikawa Tooru, who could probably be a model if he wanted to, wanted to see him in heels and lace panties? Who was he to deny him?

Whenever he thought that was it, that they showed him everything, played all their cards, the couple managed to surprise him with something new and exciting. In a few months, his brain became so conditioned to associate their bedroom with sex, that every time he walked into it he was starting to pop a boner.

And yet, even with all the time they spent together, all the incredible sex they had, the boundaries were always there, crystal clear. It was always them, and him. When they all walked together, the two usually held hands. When they sat down to eat, be it a restaurant or the cafeteria, they always sat together, hands on the other's thighs. Even while having sex, their almost unnatural coordination made it seem like they were somehow ganging up on him, two against one.

Of course, he never spent the night. Never got to kiss any of them. On the rare occasions he jerked off, he thought about what their lips would feel, what their mouths would taste like.

And with every kiss he wasn't allowed to claim, every night he couldn't stay, every time they sat around a table with the both of them on one side and himself on the other, the hollow pit in his gut ate a little more of his insides, becoming bigger. He denied it, ignored it, told himself it was just the jealousy and it would go away once he gets himself a proper boyfriend. Only he never looked at anyone as a potential romantic interest anymore. And the hollow feeling grew with every passing week.

____________

"Okay, okay, fine, I surrender. Godzilla will probably win over King Kong. But dude. The Hulk will still kick his ass." Kyoutani and Iwaizumi walked side by side on the mostly empty pavement, Boots padding away in front of them. It was a chilly spring afternoon, soon to be evening. Oikawa had some urgent paper to work on, so he opted out of the walk, knowing his boyfriend will do it anyway. And since he had nothing better to do, Kyoutani joined him.

"Ugh, Kyou, not this fucking shit again. Godzilla will just crush him like a bug. He's way smaller."

Ignoring the butterflies the nickname awakened, Kyoutani insisted, "But he's faster! And got super strength and other superhero friends to help him."

"No, dude," Hajime sent him an exasperated look, "If he brings friends then it's not just him and it _so doesn't count_."

Little drops of spit hit his arm, but Kentarou ignored them. It's was so much fun to see him this enthusiastic that he really didn't mind. "Fine, but he can take him even alone. Godzilla's stupid."

"So what? He'll still fucking crush him. All it'll take is one stomp!"

A couple more drops hit his skin and it's getting a little gross, but he ignored them still. Groaning, he said, "I already told you, Hulk's definitely faster and he's smart, he won't even stay on the ground, okay?" More drops hit his skin, but the other wasn't even talking. _The hell..._

"But it doesn't matter, because- Shit, it's raining." Iwaizumi noted just as Kyoutani noticed it. Shit indeed. "Should we wait for a bus?"

"I didn't bring any money. Didn't think we'd need it." Kyoutani said apologetically.

"Fuck, same."

"Do you have an umbrella?"

"No... Fuck, it's at least 10 minutes even if we run."

Kentarou sent him half a smirk. "We'd better get moving then, don't you think?"

"Race you back to the apartment?" Iwaizumi challenged him, returning the smirk.

"Can Boots keep up?"

"I'll carry her." By that point, she wasn't a tiny puppy anymore. Hajime carrying her all the way back, his muscles straining, bulging... Fuck that was hot.

"It's on." Kyoutani accepted.

Iwaizumi gathered the happy puppy in his arms. "Ready?"

Kyoutani nodded once.

"Go!"

They started out side by side, running relatively slowly. Jogging would be more accurate, really. As athletes, they both knew that reserving their strength is more important than gaining a headstart right off the bat. Gradually, the rain picked up the pace and so did their feet. Kyoutani knew that Boots must have been weighing the other down, but if that was the case, Iwaizumi didn't give any indication to it.

As always, at some point the older begun to pull ahead. The space between them was shorter than usual, probably due to the fact Hajime was holding extra weight, but it was definitely there. Of course Kentarou sped up, but so did the man running about two meters ahead of him, and by the time they reached the building, they were full on sprinting, soaked through, and giggling like children. Kentarou wasn't sure when was the last time he had that much fun. Well, last time he had that much _innocent_ fun.

"Fuck," Kyoutani panted. "Even with that thing in your arms I can't beat you,"

Hajime placed the wiggly-tailed puppy on the floor of the lobby then turned to him incredulously, "Excuse me?" He asked in a too high voice. "She is not a 'thing', she's our daughter." His Tooru impersonation was incredibly accurate, and sent both of them into another giggling fit.

"Race you up the stairs?" Kyoutani suggested once they quieted down.

"Nah, they fixed the elevator yesterday. I'm spent, dude."

Kentarou shrugged, following the man and apparently _their_ dog into the elevator. On the way they placed bets on Oikawa's reaction; Hajime thought he'd lock them out until they're dry because otherwise they'll dirty everything, while Kentarou thought he'd scold them for getting his precious little Boots wet and complain she'll stink.

They were both wrong. For whatever mysterious reason, the man welcomed them with a wide smile. He must have heard them from outside, because he opened the door before they even reached it, ushering them inside and fussing over getting everyone dry and warm.

"Maybe I should just go back to the dorms? It's getting late anyway and I don't have any clothes-" Kentarou tried, but was cut off by Tooru.

"Nonsense! I won't let you go out in the rain again and catch a cold! Not on my watch, nah-ah!" The man grabbed his wrist, purposefully dragging him further into the apartment. "You can just wear our clothes! I'm sure we can find stuff to fit you." 

Hajime followed behind them, possibly blocking the way in case Kentarou might try to make a run for it. He was considering it. Dealing with a cold and one angry Oikawa is better than dying, which is what's bound to happen if he wears their clothes. _It's not such a bad way to die,_ he eventually decided. Not that he had much choice in the matter, as far as Tooru was concerned, anyway.

As they entered the living room, the reason for Oikawa's chipper mood was revealed in the form of a half empty bottle of wine, and a half full glass sitting on the table.

Hajime cleared his throat behind them. "Tooru, did we miss some special occasion?"

"Mhmmm," The tall man tapped his chin thoughtfully, "No, not really."

"Then why are you drinking in the middle of the day?"

"It's nearly seven, Iwa-chan. What are you, my mom?"

"Huuuh?" Hajime drawled, moving towards his boyfriend menacingly.

Oikawa shrieked, taking a step back and waving his hands in front of him. "It was a joke! A joke! I finished the stupid paper so I decided to relax a little! That's all!"

Before it could turn into another pointless quarrel, Kyoutani injected, "The floor's getting wet." That should be enough for Tooru's mind to change course, he hoped.

It was. The tallest shrieked dramatically again, for a different reason this time. "Clothes off and into the washing machine! Go! No buts but the naked butts!" Laughing nearly hysterically from his own joke, he pushed them forward to the big bathroom, where the washing machine was conveniently placed.  
Five minutes later, he was dry and warm. Too warm, perhaps. Stupidly, he refused to wear their underwear, and the result was way too much air flowing between Oikawa's too big sweatpants and his crotch. He felt more exposed than when he was naked. And Iwaizumi's oversized sweatshirt that smelled way too much like him wasn't helping one bit. Seriously, did Tooru purposefully pick the largest he could find? Kentarou was practically drowning in it, and he was pretty sure that even Hajime wouldn't fill it up properly. Or maybe he would. His chest and arms _are_ wider than his own... So impressive and firm... And he really should stop thinking about his body, because it was eating away his self control, and he needed all of it to stop himself from burying his face in the fabric and inhaling deeply.

When he came back to the living room, the three tenants were already curled up on the couch, Boots placed between Tooru and Hajime. Not for the first time, Kentarou envied her place. The wine bottle was gone, and Kentarou gave a silent prayer to whichever god responsible for it. The last time they got him drunk he woke up back in his dorm with no memory of how he got back, and dried cum in his hair. His fucking hair. And when he asked about it, they told him he insisted on leaving it there and tried biting their fingers when the wet towel got too close to his head. He wished he never asked.

Without turning around, Hajime said, "Kyou, kindly tell Shittykawa that we are _not_ watching the little mermaid again." He was holding the tv remote, idly flipping through the channels.

"It's a good movie! Tell him Kyou!" Tooru at least had the decency of turning around to face him and fuck that pout was adorable.

"Can't you guys decide on your own?" He mumbled gruffly as he made his way over and flopped on the couch between Iwaizumi and the armset.

"No." Oikawa answered, looking at him expectantly.

Kentarou sighed heavily. "We saw it just last week. It's fair to watch something else."

While disagreeing with Hajime always made him feel guilty, at least the man never made it worse, unlike Oikawa. "Traitor!" Tooru called, talking over his boyfriend's "Thanks."

"I've said my word, now lets just pick something." He shifted in his place, trying to get comfortable. Definitely not using the movement as an excuse to get his forearm closer to his nose and get a wiff of the lingering scent from the sweatshirt.

Oikawa groaned, frustrated, while Iwaizumi just shot him a grateful look. The poor man had to deal with his boyfriend's Disney obsession for years, he knew. All he ever wanted was to watch some cool action movies, but Tooru somehow always managed to make sure they watch what he wants. Kentarou didn't really mind, he quite liked Disney movies himself, even if he had to hide the occasional tear or two at the ending.

They settled for some new low rating movie neither of them have seen yet, but it was quickly becoming clear why it was so low rated. The acting wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. The plot wasn't particularly interesting, the soundtrack easily forgettable. It was just so average. Gray. Even Boots padded away at some point. Probably decided that sniffing their shoes will be a better pastime.

Tooru found his own pastime, however. Arranged one would be a better description for it. His hand squeezed and thumbed at Hajime's inner thigh, teasing. It reminded Kentarou of that night all those months ago, and just thinking about it was enough to stir something warm in his loin. It wasn't dark, like that night, though. He could clearly see (and openly watch) as Hajime's cheeks reddened, his fists clenching, determined to ignore it. His cock wasn't ignoring it. Slowly but surely, Iwaizumi was getting harder. Still, his arms crossed on his chest, he ignored it.

Tooru didn't say anything either, but the smirk on his lips and the frequent glances to his boyfriend's crotch area gave away exactly how much fun he was having.

The air was thick with tension, like a cup full of water just waiting to spill over. Waiting to see who will make a move. Contrary to the last time they were in a similar situation, though, there was no feeling of danger. Nothing felt wrong, or weird. It was just a relatively normal afternoon where they were about to get it on. Any minute now, someone will say "fuck it" and pounce on Hajime (naturally, since he was in the middle). Any... Second...

Kentarou's phone was the one to make the move, ringing loudly in his pocket and breaking the spell. Two sets of eyes turned to look at him. "Shit-fuck," he grumbled, fishing it out with the full intention of turning it off. Only it was a call from his mother. No matter how horny he might be, he wasn't going to ignore her when they barely had the time to talk once or twice a week.

"I gotta take this," he stood up and sent an apologetic look to the couple, who both shrugged and started making out. Fucking shameless bastards trying to kill him.

"Hey," He finally answered, a little breathy.

"Ken-chan!" His little brother's voice came through.

"Eichi!" Although the twin's voices were similar, Kentarou could easily tell them apart. "What are you doing, calling me from mom's phone?" 

"Mommy said you'll tell us a story again!"

Shit. The first time he told them a story through the phone was a hit, and since then they called at least twice a month, asking for another. His creativity was starting to run dry, and so the stories became more whimsical and less logical every time. The twins and his sister never seemed to mind, though. They always listened attentively.

"You'll tell us a story, right?" Hiroki's small voice came from the backround.

"Uh..." Kentarou glanced at the couch, where Hajime was now straddling Tooru's lap, their lips locked together. Fuck. "Yeah, of course I will." He turned his back to the incredibly hot sight, cursing the bad timing. On top of having to miss out on the action, the others would hear whatever stupid story he's going to tell. Might as well make it interesting for them.

Clearing his throat, he started, "Once upon a time, far far in the future, there was a brave young hero named... Ninnie. Although she was talented and courageous, there just wasn't anything wrong in her universe to fix. She trained for years to fight evil of all different kinds, but when she set foot to the real world, she found no evil to fight. The fire in her burned still, and she decided to look for troubles in other universes. This was, after all, her destiny."

The children on the line made "ooh" and "ahh" sounds. Even Tooru was impressed, because he pulled away from his boyfriend to say, "That sounds kind of interesting, Kyouken-chan. I'd watch a movie like that."

Kentarou ignored him and continued the story, a little more confident now. "She went to the ice universe, where everything was peaceful. All the people got along perfectly, and helped warm each other up because it was very cold. After that, she found a warp in space that led her to... The cat universe. Cats everywhere, in all sizes and shapes and colors. Everyone really love cats in that universe, too, so nothing was wrong with it. She then passed through a wormhole into teeth universe, but not even there she found trouble... After many, many more universes, she started wondering, _Is it possible, that there was not a single drop of evil in any universe everywhere?_ "

"You're missing out, Kyou." Hajime's hoarse voice came from behind him,

He turned around, and that was a huge mistake, because Iwaizumi already lost his shirt and unzipped his pants, and shit that was so fucking hot-

"What happened next?" An excited voice from the phone brought him back. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to think of the story.

"She... uh... presented this question to a council of 15 wise dragons who resided in trash universe. Their universe wasn't really full of trash, it's just that the dragons had a tendency to buy lots of stuff, but hated cleaning, so everything was one huge mess. Anyway, she was hoping they might know something about a place of evil, but even they were not able to help."

Tooru cleared his throat and Kentarou apparently can't learn from his mistakes, because he opened his eyes again. The taller stared at him pointedly as he leaned forward, kissing down Hajime's collarbone and sucking on one dark nipple. _Fuck._ His next words were said very quickly. "After years and years of journey, the hero became tired of her search. There was no evil. Everything was good. She found a nice princess, and they fell in love and got married and lived happily ever after. Tell mom I said hi!" He finished the story too early despite their growing protests, ended the call and tossed the phone into the couch.

"That was cute." Oikawa said, smiling up at him.

"Fuck you." Kyoutani retorted.

Pragmatic as always, Iwaizumi sped things up by pulling him over and demanding he take off his clothes. It didn't take long from that point until they were all panting against each other, and by the time he got his release, the rain had ceased and he was free to go back to the dorms.

The heavy feeling in his gut was because he wasn't nice enough to his siblings, he told himself. Nothing to do with the fact he was going back alone while the two were back in their apartment, probably cuddling on the bed together.

___________

A few weeks later, he was late to morning practice for the second time since he started university. It wasn't his fault, the damn alarm clock ran out of batteries overnight, but still, running to the gym at 7:30 with guilt weighing him down wasn't a fun start to his morning. His inner clock woke him up, so he wasn't extremely late, but still. He was on a scholarship, and being late to practice was one of the things he couldn't afford to do.

His phone rang, and he pulled it out of the bag, thinking it might be one of his teammates or his coach asking where he was- But no. It was an unfamiliar number. Still, it could be someone who's number he didn't bother saving, so he answered.

"Hello?" He breathed into it, slowing down to power walking instead of a jog.

"Good morning." An official sounding voice said. "I'm calling from Ginkou Bank. Is this Kyoutani Hyori?"

"Uh, no, I'm her son," Kentarou feet slowed even more. Something heavy settled in his stomach, and it wasn't the takeout from last night.

"Oh, your phone was listed here as well so-"

"What is this about?" He cut her off.

"Well, it's a mandatory call to see if your mother got any of the notice letters we sent. There was no response, so we have to call before we send any debt collectors."

Kentarou stopped in place. His skin was buzzing. The weight in his stomach doubled. "What? This is a mistake. We don't have any debt." His mother didn't say anything. Surely there has been some sort of misunderstanding.

"I'm sorry, but you most definitely do. A little under two million yen, in fact."

Head spinning and mind reeling, it felt like the ground was swallowing Kyoutani whole. _Two million yen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the skipped sex AGAIN but I swear the next chapter will get steamy! Ahh
> 
> [tumblr](http://etstruball.tumblr.com/)


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